LIBRARY 

N»V£KSITYo 
CALIFORNIA 


^ 


ft. 


e  listaqr  uf 


THE 


HISTORY  OF  SWITZERLAND, 


I'or 


BY 

HEINRICH  ZSCHOKKE. 

WITH  A  CONTINUATION  TO  THE  YEAR  1848, 

BY    EMIL    ZSCHOKKE. 


TRANSLATED   BY 

FRANCIS     GEORGE     SHAW. 


NEW    YORK: 
C.    S.    FRANCIS    &    CO.,    252    BROADWAY. 

LONDON: 
SAMPSON  LOW,  SON  &  CO.,  47  LUDGATE  HILL, 

M.DCCC.LV. 


r-itered  according  to  Act  of  CongreM,  in  the  year  1855. 

BY  C.  8.  FR*NCIS  &  Co., 
U  tho  Clcrk'i  Offio.)  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  Suites  for  the  Southern  district  of  New  York. 


TRANSLATOR'S    PREFACE 


WHILE  studying  the  history  of  Switzerland  on  Swiss  soil,  I 
was  charmed  by  the  simple  beauty,  the  conciseness  and  im- 
partiality of  Zschokke's  popular  work,  which  is  used  as  a  text- 
book in  many,  if  not  in  all,  of  the  Confederate  Cantons ;  and, 
with  the  assent  of  pastor  Emil  Zschokke  of  Aarau,  the  worthy 

S 

continuer  of  his  late  celebrated  father's  labors,  I  made  the  fol- 
lowing translation  from  the  ninth  enlarged  edition. 

Having  myself  felt  a  want  of  information  on  the  subject,  I 
now  present  this  translation  to  my  fellow-citizens  of  these  United 
States,  in  the  hope  that  a  more  extended  acquaintance  with  the 
history  of  our  sister  republic  may  teach  us  to  shun  the  perils 
through  which  the  Swiss  people  have  passed  at  the  cost  of  so 
much  suffering,  and  may  aid  us  to  appreciate  our  own  more 
favorable  position  as  a  nation. 

STATEN  ISLAND,  New  York, 
January  1,  1855. 


NOTB. — As  the  Swiss,  in  different  parts  of  their  country,  speak  different  languages 
(German,  French,  Italian,  and  several  distinct  idioms),  there  is  necessarily  a  great  diver- 
sity also  in  their  nomenclature.  I  have  followed  that  of  the  author,  which  is  German, 
or  employed  that  locally  prevalent,  except  in  cases  where  a  person  or  place  is  better 
known  to  us  by  some  other  name. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAO« 

I.  How  it  was  in  the  beginning 1 

II.  The  first  exploits  of  the  ancient  Helvetians,  and  how  the 

Cymbri  came  to  them.     [B.  C.  100.] 3 

III.  All  the  country  becomes  Roman.     [B.  G  50.] 5 

IV.  Of  the  Roman  dominion  in  the  land.     [A.  D.  1  to  300.] 10 

V.  How  the  whole  country  became  a  prey  to  foreign  nations. 

[A.  D.  300  to  550.] 1 13 

VI.  Dominion  and  rule  of  the  Franks.     [A.  D.  550  to  900.] 16 

VII.  The  Christian  religion  penetrates  the  land 18 

VIII.  How  the  country  becomes  part  of  the  German  empire,  and 

cities  are  built.     [A.  D.  900  to  1200.] 21 

IX.  More  about  the  cities  and  the  great  signiors  in  the  country. 

[A.D.  1200  to  1290.] 26 

X.  Of  the  communities  in  the  mountains  of  Schwyz,  Appenzell, 

Rhetia  and  Valais.     [A.  D.  1200  to  1290.] 30 

XL  About  the  good  emperor,  Rudolf'  of  Habsburg,  and  the  evil 

designs  of  his  son  Albert.     [A.  D.  1291  to  1307.] 34 

XII.  Of  William  Tell  and  the  three  men  in  Rutli.     [A.  D.  1307.]     38 

XIII.  The  New-Year's  morning  of  1308.     Battle  for  freedom  at 

Morgarten.     Lucerne  joins  the  Confederates.     [A.  D.I  308 

to  1334.] 41 

XIV.  Berne  vanquishes  the  power  of  the  nobility  near  Laupen  ; 

and   knight  Brun   changes  the   constitution  of  Zurich. 

[AD.  1335  to  1340.] 46 

XV.  Origin  of  the  perpetual  bond  of  the  eight  ancient  cantons 

of  the  Confederacy.     [A.  D.  1341  to  1360.] 50 

XVL  How  the  Swiss  increase,  and  the  Guglers  and  the  counts  of 

Kyburg  are  ruined.     [A.  D.  1360  to  1385.] 65 


yiii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PjISB 

XVII.  The  battle  for  freedom  near  Sempach.     [A.  D.  1385  to 

1387.] 59 

XVIIL  The  battle  for  freedom  near  Nafels,  and  its  consequences. 

[A.  D.  1388  to  1402.] 62 

XIX.  The  heroic  days  of  the  Appenzellers.    [A.D.  1403  to  141 1.]     67 
XX.  The  Confederates  conquer  Aargau  and  establish  common 

bailiwicks.     [A.  D.  1412  to  1418.] 73 

XXI.  The  Mazza  of  Valais  against  Raron.    The  battle  of  Arbedo, 

and  the  cunning  of  lord  Zoppo.     [A.  D.  1419  to  1426.].     78 
XXIL  In  the  Highlands  of  Rhetia,  the  Upper-league,  the  God's- 
house-league  and  the  League  of  the  Ten-jurisdictions 
are  formed  in  behalf  of  liberty.     [A,  D.  1426  to  1436.]     83 
XXIIL  Quarrel  respecting  the  Toggenburg-inheritance.     [A.  D. 

1436  to  1443.] 88 

XXIV.  War  of  all  the  Confederates  against  Zurich.     The  Heroes- 
death  near  St.  Jacques.     Peace.     [A.D.  1443  to  1450.].     93 
XXV.  Rhe^ufelden  is  devastated.     Freiburg  falls  into  the  power 
of  Savoy.    Thurgau  becomes  a  common  bailiwick  of  *he 

Confederacy.     [A.  D.  1450  to  1468.] 99 

XXVL  Union  of  the  three  Leagues  in  Rhetia.     Discord  in  Berne. 
Commencement  of  the  Burgundian  war.     [A.  D.  1469 

to  1476.] 104 

XXVH.  Result  of  the  Burgundian  war.     Freiburg  becomes  free. 

[A.  D.  1476  to  1477.] ^  08 

XXVIH.  The  glorious  day  of  Giornico.  Nicholas  von  der  Flue. 
Freiburg  and  Solothurn  in  the  Swiss  Confederacy. 
Death  of  John  Waldmann  at  Zurich.  [A.  D.  1478  to 

1489.] 114 

XXIX.  The  Suabian  War.     Formation  of  the  Confederacy  of  the 

thirteen  cantons.     [A.  D.  1490  to  1500.] ^20 

1CXX.  The  savage  manners  and  mercenary  wars  of  the  Swiss ; 
they  conquer  Valtelina    and  the   Italian  bailiwicks. 

[A.  D.  1500  to  1525.] 126 

XXXI.  Beginning  of  the  religious  schism  in  Switzerland.     [A.  D. 

1519  to  1527.] 131 

XXXII.  Progress  of  the  discord  in  church-matters.     [A.  D.  1527 

to  1530.] 136 

XXXHL  The  war  of  Kappel.    Death  of  Zwingli.     Avoyer  Wengi 

of  Solothurn.     [A.  D.  1531  to  1533.] 140 

XXXIV.  Geneva  separates   from  Savoy.     Berne   subdues  ~V7au< 

[A.  D.  1533  to  1558.] 143 


CONTENTS.  IX 

CHiPTOS  fiGM 

XXXV.  Religious  hatred  in  the  Italian  bailiwicks,  in  Orisons  and 
everywhere.     Dispute  about  the  calendar.     The  Borro- 

mean-league.     [A.  D.  1558  to  1586.] 148 

XXXVL  Insurrection  at  Muhlhausen.     The  Rhodes  of  Appenzell 
separate.     The  duke  of  Savoy  tries  to  surprise  Geneva. 

[A.  D.  1587  to  1603.] 153 

XXXVII.  Troubles  in  Bienne.     Conspiracy  against  Geneva.     The 
black  death.     Commencement  of  civil  war  in  Grisons. 

[A.  D.  1603  to  1618.] 158 

XXXVIIL  Terrible   destruction    of  Plurs.     Massacre   in   Valtelina. 

Civil  war  among  the  Grisons.     [A.  D.  1618  to  1621.]. .   162 
XXXIX.  The  Grisons  are  brought  under  the  Austrian  yoke.     [A.  D. 

1621  to  1630.] 16t 

XL.  The  Grisons  recover  their  liberty.     [A.  D.  1630  to  1640.]  171 
XLI.  Of  the  troubles  among  the  Confederates  during  the  Thirty 
years'  religious  war  in  Germany,  and  how  Switzerland's 
independence  of  the  German  empire  was  established. 

[A.  D.  1618  to  1648.] 175 

XLIL  How  the  peasants  in  the  cantons  of  Lucerne,  Berne,  Solo- 
thurn  and  Bale  undertake  to  revolt,  and  lose  thereby. 

[A.  D.  1648  to  1655.] 180 

XLIIL  Another    religious    war.     The   battle   near   Villmergen. 
Commotion   in  Bale.     The   pestilence.     [A.  D.  1656  to 

1699.] 189 

XLIV.  How  the  Toggenburgers  were  deprived  of  their  ancient 
liberties  by  the  abbot  of  St.  Gallen,  and  what  happened 

in  consequence.     [A.  D.  1700" to  1712.] 194 

XLV.  The  1  oggenburger  war.     Second  battle  near  Villmergen. 

Peace  concluded  at  Aarau.     [A.  D.  1712  to  1718.] 199 

XLVL  Condition   of   the   Swiss   at  the   commencement  of  the 
Eighteenth  century.    Thomas  Massner's  quarrel.     [A.  D. 

1701  to  1714.] 204 

XLVIL  Disturbances  in  Zurich,  SchafFhausen  and  the  bishopric  of 

Bale.     [A.  D.  1714  to  1740.] 208 

XLVllI.  Insurrection  of  the  Werdenbergers  against  Glarus.     [A.  D. 

1714  to  1740.] 213 

,  Party-rage  and  disturbances  in  Zug.     Power  and  misfor- 
tunes  of   landammann    Schumacher.     [A.  D.   1714  to 

1740.] 216 

L.  Quarrel  of  the  Harten  and  Linden  in  the  Outer-rhodes  of 

Appenzell.     [A,  D.  1714  to  1740.] 221 


:  CONTENTS. 

CHiPTSB 

LI.  Henzi's  conspiracy  at  Berne.     [A.  D.  1740  to  1749.] 225 

LIL  Of  the  rebellion  in  the  valley  of  Leventina.     [A.  D.  1750 

to  1755.] 229 

LIII.  How  the  ancient  Confederacy  fell  into  still  greater  decay. 

The  Helvetian  society.     [A.  D.  1755  to  1761.] 233 

LIV.  King  Frederick  the  Great,  as  prince  of  Neuchatel,  behaves 

nobly  towards  his  subjects.     [A.  D.  1762  to  1770.] 238 

LV.  Party-quarrels  in  the  city  of  Lucerne.     Histor}'  of  land- 
ammann  Suter  of  the  Outer-rhodes  of  Appenzell.     [A.  D. 

1770  to  1784.] 241 

LVI.  Disturbances  and  insurrections  in  the  canton  of  Freiburg. 

[A.  D.  1781  to  1790.] 247 

LVTI.  Disturbances  in  the  bishopric  of  Bale,  in  Vaud  and  Grisons. 

[A.  D.  1790  to  1794.] 251 

LVIH.  History  of  parties  and  excesses  in  Geneva.     [A.  D.  1707 

to  1797.] . . .- 256 

LIX.  Of  the  ancient  district  of  St.  Gallen  and  the  wise  abbot 
Beda ;  how  disturbances  also  broke  forth  on  the  lake  of 

Zurich.     [A.  D.  1794  to  1797.] 262 

LX.  Destruction  of  the  old  Confederacy.     Entrance   of   the 

French  into  the  land.     [A.  D.  1797  and  1798.] 268 

LXL  How  the  Swiss  suffered  great  calamities,  until  a  new  Con- 
federacy was  formed.     [A.  D.  1798  to  1803.] 274 

LXII.  Napoleon  Buonaparte  gives  to  the  Swiss  an  "Act  of  media- 
tion." [A.  D.  1803  to  1813.] 279 

LXIIL  The  Swiss  annul  Napoleon's  "Act  of  mediation,"  and 
divide,  until  foreign  powers  once  more  put  an  end  to 
their  division  by  founding  a  new  Confederacy  of  twenty- 
two  cantons.  [A.  D.  1814  and  1815.] 284 

LXIV.  Renewed   loss   of  liberty,    and   weakness   of  the   Swiss. 

[A.  D.  1815  to  1829.] 289 

LXV.  Thirteen   cantons    recover    their    liberty.      Troubles    in 

Schwyz,  Neuchatel  and  Bale.     [A.  D.  1830  to  1832.]. . .   293 
LXVI.  The  league  of  Sarnen.     Five  hundred  Poles  eriteHSwitzer- 

land  from  France.     [A.  D.  1832  to  1833.] 3no 

LXVII.  Breach  of  the  peace.     Peace  restored  by  the  Diet.     [A.  D. 

1833.] ^. .   304 

LXVIII.  Conclusion 307 


CONTENTS.  XI 


CONTINUATION. 

CHAPTKB  "OB 

LXIX.  Expedition  against  Savoy.     Occurrences  at  Steinholzlein. 

[A.  D.  1834] 311 

LXX.  Dispute  with  France.     [A.  D.  1835  and  1836.] 315 

LXXI.  Protocol  of  the  Baden-conference ;  its  occasion  and  conse- 
quences.    [A.  D.  1834  to  1836.] 320 

LXXII.  Constitutional  quarrel  in  Glarus.     Contest  between  the 
Homers   and   Klauens    in    Schwyz.     Louis    Napoleon. 

[A.  D.  1837  and  1838.] 326 

LXXIII.  Explosion  at  Zurich.     [A.  D.  1839.] 331 

LXXIV.  Bitter  consequences.    Convent-rebellion  at  Aargau.   [A.  D. 

1840  and  1841.] 336 

LXXV.  Revolution  in  Lucerne,  in  Ticino  and  Geneva.     [A.  D.  1840 

to  1 841.] 343 

LXXVI.  Termination  of  the  convent-question.     Formation  of  the 

Sonderbund.     [A.  D.  1842  to  1843.] ' 348 

LXXVII.  Party-hatred   in   Valais   and    fratricide   on   the   Trient. 

[A.  D.  1844.] 352 

LXXVIII.  The  Jesuits  invited  to  Lucerne.     First  free-corps  expedi- 
tion.    [A.  D.  1844.] 357 

LXXIX.  Revolution  in  Vaud.    Second  free-corps  expedition.    [A.  D. 

1845.] 362 

LXXX.  Painful  consequences.     [A.  D.  1845  and  1846.] 368 

LXXXI.  The  crisis  approaches.     [A.  D.  1846  to  1847.] 372 

LXXXII.  The  Sonderbund-war.     [A.  D.  1847.] 376 

LXXXIII.  The  new  Swiss  Confederate-bond.     [A.  D.  1848.] 387 


(  1  ) 


HISTORY  OF   SWITZERLAND. 


CHAPTER  I. 

HOW   IT    WAS    IN    THE    BEGINNING. 

THE  wonderful  deeds  of  the  heroes,  our  fathers,  their 
good  and  evil  fortunes,  have  been  frequently  told  and  as 
frequently  recorded ;  but  I  wish  to  freshen  those  ancient 
traditions  in  the  minds  of  the  whole  nation ;  and  I  relate 
them  to  the  free  men  of  the  mountains  and  of  the  valleys, 
that  their  hearts  may  be  inflamed  with  new  love  for  their 
noble  fatherland. 

Attend,  therefore,  to  my  tale,  old  men  and  young.  The 
history  of  past  ages  is  a  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and 
of  evil. 


Where  the  Rhone,  which  rises  from  under  the  glaciers 
of  Valais,  at  last  rushes  into  the  Mediterranean,  begins  a 
chain  of  lowly  mountains.  As  they  stretch  further  to 
the  east,  they  raise  their  summits  higher  in  the  air,  and, 
approaching  Italy,  lift  them  still  higher,  veiling  their 
rocky  tops  in  clouds  and  everlasting  snows.  They  are 
three  hundred  leagues  in  length  from  their  beginning  until 
they  reach  Hungary.  There  the  mountains  sink  by  degrees 
and  become  hills.  These  mountains  are  the  Alps,*  and 

*  Alp  means  an  elevated  pasture :  hence  the  name  of  the  mountains 
on  which  such  pastures  exist. 

1  f 


2  CHARACTER  OF  THE  COUNTRY. 

Helvetia  was  the  ancient  name  of  the  country  where  their 
snowy  summits,  their  bared  cliffs  and  inaccessible  peaks 
rise  highest,  far  above  the  fields  of  men  and  above  the 
clouds  of  heaven. 

Beyond  the  high  Alps,  furrowed  by  narrow  gorges  and 
covered  with  glaciers,  the  sources  of  innumerable  rivers, 
the  country  extends  to  the  north,  in  progressively  enlarg- 
ing valleys,  as  far  as  the  calcareous  mountains  of  the  Jura. 
These  curve  in  the  form  of  an  immense  half-moon,  from 
lake  Leman  (lake  of  Geneva)  to  the  lake  of  Constance 
(Boden-see).  And  from  Schaffhausen  to  Bale,  the  Rhine 
rolls  its  waves  along  the  base  of  the  Jura,  as  in  a 
moat  at  the  base  of  a  rampart.  Thus  has  God  begirt  our 
fatherland,  like  an  immense  citadel,  with  steep  mountains 
and  deep  waters.  But  a  citadel  is  strong  only  when  men 
are  in  it. 

In  ages  of  which  no  man  knows,  all  this  country  was  an 
ocean.  The  water  stood  fifteen  hundred  fathoms  above 
the  fields  and  meadows  which  we  now  cultivate.  At  that 
period,  the  summits  of  the  mountains  were  separate  islands. 
The  high  rocks  still  bear  the  marks  of  the  mighty  flood. 
Plants  and  shell-fish,  which  once  lived  at  the  bottom  of 
the  sea,  now  lie  petrified  in  the  mud  which  has  become 
rock.  The  finger  of  God  has  written  in  the  veins  of  the 
mountains,  and  the  voice  of  Nature  cries  to  us  from  the 
depths  of  their  caverns,  that  this  earth,  before  being  the 
abode  of  man,  underwent  more  than  one  overwhelming 
convulsion. 

After  the  waters  had  subsided,  and  the  dried  bottom  of 
the  sea  had  become  covered  by  moss,  grass,  shrubs  and 
forests,  ages  passed  ere  a  human  voice  resounded  through 
the  silence  of  this  wilderness.  No  one.  knows  who  first 
wandered  with  his  herd  along  the  woody  shores  of  our 
lakes  and  rivers.  The  earliest  families  must  have  estab- 
lished themselves  in  the  broad  and  temperate  valleys ;  long 
afterwards,  they  ascended  into  the  wilder  regions,  and,  at 
last,  discovered  the  solitudes  enclosed  among  the  high 
Alps. 

Six  hundred  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  the  valleys 
above  which  the  Rhine  has  its  source  were  still  uniu- 


THE   RHETIANS.  3 

habited.  Then,  according  to  tradition,  some  fugitives  from 
Italy  first  peopled  them.  The  Gauls,  a  warlike  and  power- 
ful nation,  had  penetrated  into  Italy,  and,  conquering  the 
inhabitants,  had  slain  them,  or  driven  them  from  the  abodes 
of  their  fathers.  Trembling  before  the  sword  of  their 
enemy,  many  fled  from  the  maritime  country  of  the  Rasen- 
nes,  where  now  flourish  the  cities  of  Genoa  and  Florence. 
With  their  wives,  their  children  and  their  household  gods, 
they  found  an  asylum  in  the  recesses  and  wildernesses  of  the 
high  Alps.  There  they  fixed  their  abodes  in  secluded  val- 
leys, among  dense  forests  and  lofty  mountains,  safe  from 
the  fury  of  the  Gauls.  They  were  called  Rhetians,  from 
the  name  of  their  god  or  hero,  Rhetus.  Hence  the  country 
about  the  sources  of  the  Rhine  and  of  the  Inn,  the  strong 
home  of  the*  free  Grisons,  is,  even  in  our  day,  called 
Rhetia. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    FIRST    EXPLOITS    OF    THE    ANCIENT    HELVETIANS,  AND   HOW  THE 
CYMBRI    CAME    TO    THEM. 

[One  hundred  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ.] 

FOR  several  centuries,  the  people  increased  slowly  in  the 
valleys  between  the  Alps  and  the  Jura,  between  lake 
Lernan  and  the  lake  of  Constance.  Surrounded  by  rocks, 
woods  and  rivers,  they  lived  on  the  products  of  the  chase, 
of  the  soil,  of  their  herds,  unknown  to  the  world,  in  savage 
freedom.  They  formed  as  many  independent  communities 
as  there  were  separate  valleys.  Their  valiant  young  men 
pursued  the  game  through  gloomy  forests,  fought  with  ser- 
pents in  caverns  and  morasses,  with  wild  beasts  in  the 
mountains,  or,  from  time  to  time,  made  predatory  excur- 
sions into  the  neighborhood.  Skins  formed  their  clothing; 
lances,  clubs,  bows  and  arrows  were  their  arms.  For 
offence  and  defence,  several  communes  united  into  a  Gau 
(district  or  province).  That  of  the  Tigurins,  upon  the  banks 


4  DEFEAT  OF  THE  ROMANS.  [B.  0. 

of  the  Ehine  and  Thur,  was  the  first  of  which  the  name 
is  known  (Thurgau). 

Then  it  happened  that  a  terrible  people,  coming  from 
distant  countries,  crossed  the  forests  of  Germany.  They 
were  three  hundred  thousand  warlike  men,  called  Cymbri, 
that  is :  Confederates  from  various  nations.  Many  of  them 
are  said  to  have  come  from  Friesland  and  Sweden,  and 
from  Norway,  where  the  inhabited  world  lies  chilled  in 
snow  and  ice.  The  tradition  is  that  they  had  been  driven 
out  by  hunger,  when  the  sluices  of  heaven  were  opened 
upon  their  homes,  and  valleys  and  heights  became  lakes 
and  swamps.  Now  they  came,  fighting  and  conquering, 
to  the  Rhine,  and  over  the  Rhine,  to  the  cities  of  the  Gauls, 
in  the  country  which  is  now  France.  There  they  obtained 
an  enormous  booty. 

When  the  young  men  in  the  district  of  the  Tigurins 
heard  of  this,  they  were  desirous  to  share  in  the  glory  and 
booty  of  the  Cymbri.  All  who  could  bear  arms  went  and 
joined  those  powerful  conquerors.  Much  plunder  was 
taken,  much  blood  was  shed.  The  people  of  Gaul  uttered 
cries  of  terror,  and  implored  help  from  Rome. 

Rome  immediately  sent  a  strong  army.  It  marched  over 
the  snowy  Alps  towards  lake  Leman.  This  frightened  the 
Tigurins  who  were  with  the  Cymbri ;  they  thought  that 
their  homes  in  the  mountains  were  threatened.  They  at 
once  hastened  against  the  Romans  near  lake  Leman.  A 
young  hero,  named  Divikon,  was  their  leader.  As  soon 
as  he  saw  the  enemy's  camp,  he  drew  the  sword.  A  fright- 
ful carnage  ensued  ;  the  bodies  of  the  Romans  covered  the 
field ;  at  last,  they  asked  for  quarter.  Then  Divikon  raised 
two  posts,  over  which  he  placed  a  beam.  Beneath  this 
gallows-yoke  he  compelled  the  disarmed  enemies  to  crawl, 
to  the  eternal  glory  of  his  own  people,  and  to  the  shame  of 
Rome.  Then  he  sent  them  home  over  the  mountains. 

Elated  by  this  victory,  Divikon  rejoined  the  Cymbri,  his 
companions  in  arms,  and  with  them  ravaged  Gaul.  After- 
wards, they  crossed  the  high  Alps,  entered  Italy,  and 
threatened  Rome.  Then  the  Romans  rose  in  their  strength, 
and  many  bloody  battles  were  fought.  But  fortune 
deserted  the  Cymbri.  Most  of  them  fell  by  the  edge  of  the 


100.]  ANCIENT  TRADITIONS.  6 

sword.  Those  who  escaped  sought  safety  with  Divikon  in 
the  security  of  the  Helvetian  mountains. 

Thus,  men  driven  from  the  cold  North  by  flood  and 
famine,  came  to  establish  themselves  in  Helvetia.  They 
fixed  their  abode  on  the  shores  of  the  lake  of  the  Wald- 
statten,*  at  the  foot  of  the  Haken  and  the  Mythen,  near  to 
Bruch-land,  which  means  marshy  land,  and  cleared  the 
forests.  Hence  they  were  called  Bruchen-buren  (peasants 
of  the  marsh).  Schwyz  is  thought  to  have  been  founded 
by  the  brothers  Switer  and  Swen.  Family  names,  com- 
mon in  Sweden,  are  even  now  heard  in  those  valleys. 

Thence  the  people,  as  they  became  numerous,  spread 
into  the  uninhabited  woody  valleys  on  the  lake,  into  the 
country  about  Kernwald,  over  the  black  mountain  Brunig, 
and  thence  through  Hasli  in  Weissland,  at  the  foot  of  the 
white  ice  mountains,  from  valley  to  valley,  as  far  as  Fruti- 
gen,  Obersibnen,  Sunen,  Afflentsch,  and  Jaun. 

So  say  the  most  ancient,  uncertain  traditions. 


CHAPTER  III. 

ALL   THE    COUNTRY    BECOMES    ROMAN. 
[Fifty  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ] 

FOR  a  long  while  after  the  exploits  of  Divikon  and  the 
Cymbri,  tales  were  told  of  the  fat  pastures  and  rich  coun- 
try which  had  been  seen  in  Gaul.  There,  was  a  more  tem- 
perate sky,  under  which  flourished  the  olive  and  the  vine, 
and  the  snows  of  winter  were  seldom  known.  These  tales 
excited  the  longings  of  the  people  in  rugged  Helvetia, 
especially  when  they  heard  them  confirmed  by  travellers, 
or  by  their  neighbors  beyond  the  Rhine,  with  whom  a 
friendly  intercourse  was  maintained. 

*  Lake  of  the  forext-nantons ;  usually  called  Vier  Waldstatter  See, 
Lake  of  the  four  forest-cantons,  because  enclosed  by  the  cantons  of  Uri, 
Schwyz,  Unterwalden.  and  Lucerne. 

A* 


6  ORGETORIX.  [B.  C. 

At  this  time,  there  lived  in  the  country  a  man  of  note, 
named  Hordrich.  (The  Romans  called  him  Orgetorix,  and 
he  is  now  known  only  by  this  altered  name.)  Ten  thou- 
sand men  and  women  servants  cultivated  his  fields  and 
herded  his  cattle ;  he  enjoyed  much  consideration  among 
the  neighboring  Gauls,  and  associated  with  their  small 
princes.  This  man  aspired  to  great  things.  He  spoke  first 
to  the  chief  persons  of  his  own  district,  then  to  those  of  the 
others,  and,  lastly,  to  the  people  in  the  communes.  "  Why 
should  we  exhaust  our  strength  on  a  rough  and  rocky  soil, 
to  obtain  a  bare  subsistence  for  ourselves  and  our  animals  ? 
We  must  migrate  into  Gaul,  here  are  plenty  of  fruitful 
fields  open  to  a  valiant  people."  These  speeches  inflamed 
all  minds,  and,  soon,  every  one  thought  of  going.  The  com- 
munes assembled  and  unanimously  decided  to  prepare  for 
a  general  emigration.  During  three  years  they  were  to 
cultivate  their  fields  and  make  provision  for  the  long  jour- 
ney ;  while,  in  the  interval,  they  engaged  allies  and  assist- 
ants, and  did  whatever  was  necessary  to  give  security  to 
their  hazardous  enterprise. 

Orgetorix,  delighted  with  the  success  of  his  appeal, 
exerted  himself  to  ensure  a  prosperous  result.  He  dis- 
played great  activity,  constantly  traversed  the  different  dis- 
tricts, passed  the  Rhine  to  communicate  with  the  bordering 
people  and  their  chiefs;  he  asked  a  free  passage  for  his 
nation,  made  great  promises,  talked  more  and  louder  than 
was  prudent.  He  even  gave  his  daughter  in  marriage  to 
one  of  the  neighboring  princes,  and  acted  as  if  he  were 
himself  already  lord  and  king  of  the  Helvetians. 

This  made  his  fellow-countrymen  suspicious,  and  they 
began  to  think  that  he  intended  to  betray  the  people  and 
to  destroy  their  ancient  liberties,  in  order  to  become  abso- 
lute master.  But  there  was  a  law  in  the  Helvetian  districts 
that  whoever  attempted  to  infringe  the  rights  and  liberties 
of  the  people  should  be  burnt  to  death ;  and  Orgetorix  was 
summoned  to  appear  and  reply  to  his  accusers.  He  refused, 
and  tried  to  arm  his  servants  in  his  defence.  Then  the 
communes  rose  against  him.  Seeing  that  all  was  lost,  he 
killed  himself. 

When  the  three  years  of  preparation  had  elapsed,  the 


50]  GENERAL  EMIGRATION.  7 

people  in  the  four  districts  began  their  emigration.  The 
men  bearing  arms  opened  the  march.  Old  Divikon,  who 
had  defeated  the  Eomans  at  lake  Leman  fifty  years  before, 
was  their  leader.  Then  followed  the  women  and  children, 
the  wagons  and  carts  laden  with  provisions  and  articles 
of  value.  They  burned  all  their  dwellings  behind  them, 
twelve  cities  and  four  hundred  villages,  that  no  one  might 
long  to  return  to  his  old  home.  Many  thousands  of  allies 
came  from  lake  Constance,  and  the  Rauraques  from  the 
Rhine  country,  which  now  constitutes  the  Frickthal  and 
the  territory  of  Bale.  •  All  joined  the  Helvetians. 

Thus  the  long,  interminable  train  of  warlike  emigrants 
crossed  mountains  and  valleys.  The  Helvetians  were 
260,000  in  all.  They  directed  their  march  towards  Geneva, 
then  a  city  of  the  Allobroges,  a  small  but  courageous  peo- 
ple, and  allied  to  Rome. 

At  this  time,  about  sixty  years  before  the  advent  of  Jesus 
Christ,  Rome  was  the  most  powerful  city  in  the  whole 
world.  She  had  become  such  through  the  liberty,  the 
heroism  and  the  wisdom  of  her  citizens.  Her  arms  and 
laws  ruled  over  Italy  and  from. Gaul  to  Judea.  The  great- 
est of  her  generals,  Julius  Cesar,  was  at  Geneva  to  protect 
the  Allobroges. 

When  Cesar  heard  of  the  approach  of  the  Helvetians, 
and  of  their  intention  to  cross  the  Rhone  at  Geneva,  he 
immediately  built,  along  the  stream,  in  front  of  the  city,  a 
wall  9000  paces  long  and  16  feet  high,  with  numerous 
towers,  and  opposed  the  passage  of  the  emigrants.  But 
they  turned  towards  the  gorge  of  the  Jura,  through 
which  the  Rhone  precipitates  its  waters  into  Gaul.  They 
clambered  along  steep  rocks,  by  narrow  footpaths.  Be- 
neath them  were  abysses  and  the  roaring  flood. 

They  were  hardly  across  the  mountains,  on  the  plains  of 
Gaul,  when  Cesar  was  there  also.  He  attacked  the  rear- 
guard of  Tigurins.  Grey-haired  Divikon  approached  Cesar 
and  said  :  "  What  have  I  to  do  with  thee  ana  thy  Romans  ? 
Let  me  go  on  my  way  in  peace,  or  remember  the  conflict 
of  lake  Leman,  and  beware  lest  I  make  this  place,  also, 
celebrated  by  a  Roman  defeat!"  Cesar  answered:  "The 
Gods  formerly  granted  good  fortune  to  thee  by  lake  Leman, 


8  JULIUS  CESAR  [B.C. 

in  order  that  thy  present  bad  fortune  might  be  doubly  bit- 
ter. Nevertheless,  I  will  let  thee  go  thy  way,  provided 
thou  respect  my  allies,  restore  to  them  what  thy  soldiers 
have  plundered  on  their  passage,  and  give  me  hostages  for 
thy  truth."  "  Not  so,  Roman,"  replied  Divikon,  "  we 
have  learnt  from  our  ancestors  to  take,  instead  of  giving 
hostages." 

Thereat,  the  Helvetians  journeyed  on,  slowly  and  with 
difficulty,  followed  closely,  during  fourteen  days,  by  the 
Roman  host.  Suddenly  the  Helvetians  turned,  full  of 
anger  and  in  arms.  A  general  battle  took  place  in  the 
fields  of  the  Gallic  city  of  Bibracte  (Autun) ;  it  lasted  from 
morning  until  sunset.  Valiantly,  but  without  skill,  fought 
the  Helvetians ;  not  less  valiantly,  but  with  more  experi- 
ence in  war,  the  Romans.  This  gave  the  victory  to  the 
latter.  The  Helvetians  fled  in  disorder  to  the  hill  where 
their  wives,  children  and  property  were  enclosed  by  a 
rampart  of  wagons.  The  enemy  followed  and  broke 
through  the  wagons;  old  men  and  warriors,  women  and 
children,  fell  by  the  swords  of  the  victors ;  many  by  their 
own,  that  they  might  not  survive  freedom  and  honor ;  others 
fled  shrieking,  wandered  in  every  direction,  and  were  given 
up  by  the  Gauls  to  Cesar.  He  said  to  the  vanquished, 
prostrate  at  his  feet  and  imploring  his  mercy  :  "  Lay  down 
your  arms  ;  return  home  whence  you  came  ;  rebuild  your 
nuts;  live  as  before,  contented  in  your  mountains,  under 
your  own  laws.  Every  country  is  good  for  man,  when 
man  is  good  for  the  country.  You  shall  not  be  the  slaves 
of  Rome,  but  shall  share  her  alliance  and  protection." 

Full  of  shame  and  sorrow,  numbering  hardly  110.000, 
they  returned  to  the  valleys  whence  they  had  come,  and 
rebuilt  their  hu's  upon  the  ashes.  But  Cesar  erected, 
near  Geneva,  on  the  lake,  a  new  fortress,  called  Novio- 
dunum,  now  Nyon.  This  he  did  to  watch  the  Helvetians. 
Other  garrisons  were  also  placed  here  and  there  in  the 
land. 

Roman  troops  were  also  stationed  at  Octodurum  (perhaps 
Martigny),  at  the  foot  of  the  Alps,  in  what  is  now  Lower 
Valais,  to  guard  the  road  over  the  mountains  into  Italy. 
The  inhabitants  of  this  broad  valley,  through  which  the 


60.]  EXTINCTION   OF  LIBERTY.  9 

Khone  finds  its  way  to  the  lake,  then  lived  a  free  and 
savage  life  ;  they  had  no  connection  with  either  the  Helve- 
tians or  the  Romans  ;  they  enforced  a  toll  on  all  merchan- 
dise that  crossed  their  Alps,  and  committed  depradations 
upon  it.  When  they  saw  foreign  soldiers  thus -established 
and  entrenched  on  their  territory,  they  became  furious. 
Rushing  from  their  mountains  and  their  valleys,  they 
attacked  the  Roman  garrisons  in  their  entrenchments,  and 
harassed  them  until  they  drove  them  from  the  country. 
But  the  Romans  soon  returned  into  the  valley  with  such 
increased  forces  as  made  all  resistance  vain.  Nearly  ten 
thousand  of  the  inhabitants,  fighting  for  the  freedom  of 
their  homes,  were  slain,  and,  on  every  side,  villages  sank 
in  flames.  From  this  time,  Yalais,  also,  was  Roman. 

The  Rhetians  alone,  behind  their  ice-mountains  and 
their  lakes,  deemed  themselves  invincible.  Along  the  Inn, 
in  the  valleys  of  what  is  now  Tyrol,  and  in  the  Vindelecian 
plains  (now  Suabia),  were  their  allies  and  confederates,  as 
advanced  guards.  They  lived  a  wild  life,  pillaged  travel- 
lers, or,  suddenly  issuing  in  numerous  hordes  from  the 
gorges  of  their  mountains,  surprised  and  plundered  the 
neighboring  Italian  cities.  From  among  their  prisoners 
they  sacrificed  victims  on  the  altars  of  their  Gods. 

Irritated  by  this,  the  emperor  Augustus,  in  whose  reign 
the  Savior  of  the  world  was  born,  sent  two  armies  at  once 
to  penetrate  that  fearful  and  elevated  region.  One  passed 
the  Alps  and  descended  towards  the  Inn;  the  other  crossed 
the  Vindelecian  lake  (lake  of  Constance) ;  and  the  whole 
country  was  subj  ugated  after  bloody  conflicts.  It  is  related 
that  the  wives  of  the  Rhetians  rushed  into  the  ranks  of  the 
combatants,  and  dashed  their  nursing  infants  upon  the  faces 
of  the  enemy,  as  if  in  their  mountains  all  life  must  become 
extinct  with  liberty. 
1* 


10  THE   EMPEROR  AUGUSTUS.  [A.  D.  1- 

CHAPTER    IV. 

^OF   THE   ROMAN    DOMINION   IN    THE    LAND. 
[A.  D.  1  to  800.] 

LIBERTY  did  indeed  become  extinct  in  the  mountains, 
but  life  remained,  subject  thenceforth  to  the  Roman  em- 
peror Augustus,  who  ruled,  all-powerful,  from  the  rising 
to  the  setting  of  the  sun.  He  sent  his'  prefects,  governors 
and  soldiers  into  the  inhabited  valleys  of  Helvetia,  and 
caused  strong  fortresses  to  be  erected,  to  keep  the  people  in 
subjection  and  obedience.  He  saw  that  the  snowy  Alps 
and  the  Jura  were  an  insurmountable  bulwark  for  Italy, 
where  he  sat  on  the  throne  in  the  rich  city  of  Rome. 

Still  the  emperor  treated  the  conquered  Helvetians  with 
humanity,  and  respected  their  manners  and  customs,  that 
they  might  thus  become  more  easily  habituated  to  his  rule, 
and  forget  their  disgrace.  He  even  permitted  them  to  live 
according  to  their  ancient  laws,  and  under  magistrates  of 
their  own  choice.  All  matters  relating  to  the  interests  of 
a  district  were  discussed  in  an  assembly  of  deputies  from 
each  commune.  But  the  emperor  reserved  to  himself  the 
right  to  enact  general  laws,  to  decree  taxes  and  contribu- 
tions, and  to  make  war  and  peace. 

All  this  took  place  at  the  time  when  Jesus  Christ  was 
born  in  Judea.  After  the  death  of  the  emperor  Augustus, 
his  successors  long  showed  themselves  favorable  to  the 
Helvetians.  They  founded  many  new  colonial  cities,  and 
connected  them  with  each  other  by  broad  highways.  The 
Roman  prefects,  governors  and  military  men,  accustomed 
to  a  more  comfortable  life  than  were  the  poor,  rude  Helve- 
tians, built  everywhere  magnificent  dwellings  and  pleasure- 
houses,  introduced  fruit-trees  from  Italy,  and  instructed  the 
people  in  all  kinds  of  trades  and  manufactures,  in  com- 
merce, and  in  the  arts  and  sciences ;  thus,  by  degrees,  the 
country  acquired  riches  and  comforts,  previously  unknown. 

Many  places  became  populous,  and  grew  into  magnifi- 
cent cities,  with  immense  palaces,  baths,  temples  and  thea- 


-300.]  AULUS  CECINA.  11 

tres.  The  great  city  Aventicum  was  ten  times  more  exten- 
sive than  now  is  Wiflisburg  (Avenche)  on  the  same  spot. 
The  boats  of  the  lake  of  Morat  then  landed  uader  the  walls. 
At  the  place  where  we  now  see  two  little  villages  (Augst 
in  Bale,  and  Augst  in  Aargau)  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Ergolz  and  the  Rhine,  was  a  flourishing  city,  Augusta 
Rauracorum,  the  ruins  of  which  still  attest  its  former  mag- 
nificence. But  greatest  and  most  magnificent  of  all  was 
the  city  of  Vindonissa  (Windisch,  in  Aargau).  In  the  vast 
space  covered  by  its  fortresses,  its  palaces  and  its  suburbs, 
we  now  see  three  villages  and  a  city  (Brugg). 

These  things  pleased  the  Helvetians.  They  were  de- 
lighted at  the  clemency  of  their  masters,  willingly  paid 
taxes  and  contributions,  and  sent  their  sons  to  serve  in  the 
Roman  armies.  In  their  new  comforts,  they  forgot  the 
ancient  liberty  for  which  their  fathers  had  fought  and 
bled. 

But  comfort  without  liberty  is  an  uncertain  good.  Let 
not  the  bird  rejoice  in  his  golden  cage,  for  his  master  can 
kill  him  at  his  will ! 

About  seventy  years  after  the  birth  of  Jesus  Christ,  an 
emperor,  named  Galba.  was  assassinated  at  Rome,  and  an- 
other elected  in  his  stead  :  Yitellius,  who  was  not  satisfac- 
tory to  all.  The  Helvetians  were  ignorant  of  the  death 
of  the  old  emperor,  but  the  chiefs  of  the  Roman  garrisons 
in  the  country,  being  early  informed,  leagued  together  in 
behalf  of  Vitellius,  and  sent  messengers  in  every  direction. 
This  astonished  the  Helvetians,  who  thought  that  the 
leaders  meditated  a  revolt  against  the  emperor  Galba. 
The  soldiers  of  the  garrisons,  especially  those  of  Vindo- 
nissa, were  moreover  insolent  and  undisciplined,  and  had 
even  seized  the  pay  belonging  to  the  garrison  of  Baden, 
composed  entirely  of  young  Helvetians.  These,  therefore, 
intercepted  the  messengers  and  letters  of  Aulus  Cecina, 
governor-general  of  Yindonissa. 

When  Cecina  received  news  of  this  in  Vindonissa,  he 
was  greatly  exasperated,  and  marched  out  with  his  troops, 
who  were  called,  and  were,  "  terrible."  He  stormed  and 
destroyed  the  fortress  and  city  of  Baden,  which  had  be- 
come flourishing  in  consequence  of  its  warm  healing  springs 


12  JULIA  ALPIISTULA.  [A.  D.  1- 

on  the  Limmat,  plundered  the  country  and  vanquished  the 
resisting  Helvetians  in  a  bloody  combat.  He  pursued  the 
conquered  beyond  the  Boetzberg,  one  of  the  Jura  moun- 
tains. In  their  flight  down  the  mountain,  the  fugitives 
were  met  by  a  numerous  body  of  Thracian  cavalry. 
Thousands  of  the  Helvetians  were  slain  in  this  encounter, 
or  dispersed  among  the  woods  and  cliifs ;  others  were  taken 
and  sold  as  slaves. 

This  massacre  did  not  appease  the  wrath  of  Cecina,  but 
he  swept  over  and  ravaged  the  whole  country,  as  far  as 
Aventicum.  Here  lived  a  rich  and  respected  Helvetian, 
Julius  Alpinus.  The  cruel  Eoman  ordered  him  to  be 
seized,  as  the  originator  of  the  revolt,  to  be  loaded  with 
bonds  and  chains,  and  led  forth  to  an  ignominious  death. 
In  vain  did  many  persons  testify  to  the  old  man's  inno- 
cence; in  vain  did  his  daughter,  Julia  Alpinula,  a  priest- 
ess, throw  herself  at  Cecina's  feet.  Her  beauty,  her  youth 
and  her  tears  could  not  touch  the  heart  of  the  ferocious 
warrior.  The  grey-haired  old  man  was  put  to  death. 

The  whole  land  was  rilled  with  sorrow  and  complaints. 
The  people  now  learned,  too  late,  that  the  emperor  to  whom 
they  wished  to  remain  faithful,  had  been  killed,  and  that 
Vitellius  was  lord  of  the  world.  Embassadors  were  sent 
in  haste  to  the  new  emperor,  to  implore  his  mercy.  Pros- 
trate in  the  dust  at  the  foot  of  his  throne,  the  Helvetians 
begged  for  pardon  with  tears  and  sobs.  That  which  they 
solicited  with  contemptible  submission  as  trembling  sub- 
jects, was  contemptuously  granted  to  them  as  vile  slaves. 
Such  is  the  lot  of  vassalage,  which  prefers  the  comforts  of 
life  to  freedom  from  foreign  bondage. 

But  neither  the  carnage  of  Bcetzberg,  nor  the  desolation 
of  Aventicum,  nor  the  disgrace  before  the  imperial  throne, 
could  restore  to  the  Helvetians  their  pristine  vigor.  It 
had  been  extinguished  and  destroyed  by  long  effeminacy. 
!  They  forgot  past  sufferings,  and  lived  as  before,  in  enervat- 
ing pleasures  ;  sought  for  riches,  sensual  delights,  and  the 
refinements  of  luxury,  and  cared  not  for  that  heroism  which 
lives  only  in  free  hearts. 

Their  Roman  rulers  were  pleased  to  see  that  the  people, 
thoughtless  of  better  things,  remained  effeminate  and  tribu- 


-300.]  HELVETIAN   EFFEMINACY.  1& 

tary  ;  that,  unaccustomed  to  fighting,  they  unlearned  the 
art  of  war,  and  that,  instead  of  strengthening  the  union 
between  their  districts,  they  awaited  their  weal  or  woe,  in 
slavish  silence,  from  the  hand  of  their  masters. 

Woe  to  the  country  in  whose  tribunals  foreigners  sit, 
and  whose  gates  are  guarded  by  foreigners !  Woe  to  the 
people  who  are  proud  of  the  support  of  a  foreign  power, 
and  divided  among  themselves  by  hatred !  Woe  to  the 
nations  who  amass  gold  and  know  not  the  use  of  steel,  by 
which  life  is  protected ! 

The  Helvetians,  thoughtless  of  defence,  were  exposed  to 
constant  peril.  As  they  had  forgotten  the  past,  they  fore- 
saw not  the  future.  Thus  they  were  ripe  for  destruction. 
Thus  the  day  of  their  terrible  and  total  ruin  found  them 
entirely  unprepared. 


CHAPTER    V. 

HOW   THE  WHOLE  COUNTRY   BECOMES  A  PREY  TO  FOREIGN    NATIONS. 
[A.  D.  800  to  550.] 

AT  this  period,  great  and  wonderful  things  took  place 
upon  the  earth.  Rome,  for  so  many  ages  queen  of  the 
world,  in  losing  her  virtues  had  lost  the  pillars  of  her 
power.  Paganism,  despised,  had  no  longer  any  hold  upon 
men,  and  they  forsook  the  altars  of  idols  for  the  unknown 
God.  From  the  bosom  of  the  East,  the  light  of  Christian- 
ity blazed  forth  as  a  newly  risen  sun,  and  enkindled  with 
its  rays  the  hearts  of  multitudes  in  three  quarters  of  the 
worm. 

It  seemed  as  if  a  voice  from  heaven  had  said  :  "I  will 
mingle  together  the  nations  of  the  earth,  like  chaff  in  a 
whirlwind,  that  the  sparks  of  holy  faith  may  be  scattered 
over  the  world,  and  all  the  countries  of  men  be  set  on  fire 
thereby.  The  false  gods  shall  become  dust  and  ashes. 
Old  things  shall  be  destroyed,  and  all  shall  become  new." 

And  now,  from  the  depths  of  unknown  regions,  issued 
nations  upon  natiopp,  driving  all  before  them  at  the  point 


14  THE  ALLEMANNI,   HUNS,  [300- 

of  the  sword.  They  came  from  the  rising  of  the  sun,  and 
from  the  unconquered  countries  of  the  North. 

First  came  the  Allemanni,  savage  warriors  of  Germanic 
race.  During  two  centuries  and  a  half  of  continued  war- 
fare, they  penetrated  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  Roman 
territory,  aud  drew  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  Helvetian 
mountains.  At  last  they  broke,  like  an  overwhelming 
torrent,  through  the  passes  of  the  Jura,  and  spread  them- 
selves over  the  land.  From  the  Black  Forest  to  the  foot 
of  the  Alps,  all  was  desolation.  The  magnificence  of 
Aventicum  and  of  Vindonissa  lay  heaped  in  ruins.  Ro- 
mans, as  well  as  Helvetians,  if  spared  by  the  sword  of  the 
enemy,  became  slaves.  The  Allemanni  divided  among 
themselves  the  whole  country,  with  its  riches  and  its  in- 
habitants, from  the  Rhine  and  the  lake  of  Constance  to 
the  lake  of  the  Waldstatten  and  the  Aar.  They  loved 
war,  liberty  and  herds.  They  despised  cities,  as  the  pris- 
ons of  free  men.  The  memories  of  Rome  and  of  ancient 
Helvetia  were  sunk  in  shameful  oblivion. 

Shortly  after  these,  the  Huns  swarmed  forth  from  the 
wildernesses  of  Asia  in  numberless  hordes.  They  pillaged 
the  world.  Their  faces  were  so  hideous  that  they  could 
hardly  be  called  human  ;  their  deeds  were  still  less  human. 
These  destroyers  traversed  Germany,  Gaul  and  Italy. 
Some  of  their  bands  passed  through  the  Helvetian  terri- 
tory, penetrated  into  Rhetia,  into  the  districts  on  the  Aar, 
and  spread  over  the  neighborhood  of  Augusta  Rauraco- 
rum  and  of  Basilia  (Bale),  formerly  a  Roman  city.  They 
stopped  nowhere ;  but  everywhere  flames,  blood  and  tears 
marked  their  passage. 

Then  came  the  Burgundians,  a  vigorous  race.  They 
established  themselves  in  Gaul,  on  both  sides  of  the  Jura, 
in  Savoy,  on  lake  Leman,  in  Lower  Valais,  and  as  far  as 
the  Aar,  where  the  French  language  is  now  spoken.  They 
built  strong  fortresses,  raised  Geneva  from  its  ruins,  and, 
probably,  Avenche  on  the  ashes  of  Aventicum.  On  the 
heights  near  lake  Leman,  where  Roman  Lausonium  for- 
merly stood,  they  founded  Lausanne  anew,  and  several 
other  places. 

Then,  from  the  South,  over  the  highest  Alps,  came  the 


-550.]  GOTHS  AND  BURGUNDIANS.  15 

powerful  Goths.  Italy  was  already  their  prey  ;  all  Rhetia, 
with  her  valleys  and  mountain  pastures,  shared  the  same 
fate.  The  power  of  the  Goths  extended  far  beyond  the 
lake  of  Wallenstatt  even  to  the  Sitters  (the  small  rivers  of 
Appenzell),  over  the  St.  Gotthard  into  the  valleys  of  Uri 
and  not  less  into  Glarus.  Fear  was  in  all  places. 

These  successive  invasions  effaced  the  arts  and  industry 
of  olden  time ;  the  laws,  customs  and  languages  formerly 
in  use.  Even  the  name  of  Helvetia  was  lost.  Men  heard 
only  of  the  Allemanni,  the  Goths  and  the  Burgundians. 

Wherever  the  Allemanni  came,  they  destroyed  the  cities. 
They  dwelt  in  isolated  farm-houses  or  in  hamlets.  Their 
bondsmen,  with  their  wives  and  children,  served  them  as 
shepherds,  husbandmen  and  mechanics.  Whenever  they 
wished  to  favor  one  of  these,  they  gave  him  inalienable 
lands,  at  ground-rent  and  man-service.  Their  herds  sup- 
plied them  with  meat,  milk  and  cheese.  The  whole  coun- 
try was  pasturage  and  undivided  common.  The  soil  for- 
merly cultivated  became  a  wilderness.  Bushes  grew 
where  once  the  Roman  plough  had  been.  Around  the 
lake  of  Constance  were  immense  forests,  full  of  bears 
and  wolves. 

In  Upper  Rhetia,  the  Goths  preserved  their  warlike 
spirit,  but  their  manners  were  more  gentle.  They  made 
the  people  serfs,  it  is  true,  but  left  to  them  their  ancient 
customs.  They  did  not  destroy  the  Roman  fortresses  they 
found,  but  built  new  ones.  Living  in  their  high  towers, 
the  signiors  and  counts  governed  their  tributary  valleys  in 
the  name  of  their  king,  who  dwelt  in  Italy. 

The  Burgundians  showed  themselves  the  most  humane 
of  all.  They  appropriated  only  a  third  part  of  the  land 
and  serfs.  They  did  not  exterminate  the  ancient  inhabit- 
ants, but  made  them  subjects,  and  inferior  in  rights.  They 
established  themselves  among  them,  mingled  their  own 
language  and  customs  with  theirs,  so  that  at  last  the  two 
became  one  people.  Even  in  our  day  this  people  is  dis- 
tinguished from  the  rest  of  the  Confederates  by  the  hered- 
itary but  disfigured  idiom  called  Remain,  of  the  districts  of 
Vaud,  Freiburg,  and  Neuchatel. 

The  dominion  of  all  these  foreign  nations  was  of  short 


16  THE  FRANKS.  [550- 

duration.  Another  people  made  their  appearance,  more 
powerful,  more  daring,  more  shrewd  than  those  who  had 
preceded  them.  These  were  the  Franks.  They  came 
from  afar,  across  the  Low  Countries,  and  with  fire  and 
sword  quickly  made  themselves  masters  of  all  Gaul.  They 
established  themselves  in  the  conquered  cities,  and  the 
country,  from  them,  was  called  France.  When  they  en- 
countered the  power  of  the  Allemanni  on  the  Rhine,  a  long 
struggle  took  place  between  the  two  people.  At  last  the 
Allemanni  were  completely  and  irretrievably  vanquished 
in  a  terrible  conflict,  and  those  who  dwelt  along  the  Khine, 
in  Suabia  and  in  Helvetia,  fell  under  the  dominion  of  the 
victors. 

A  short  time  afterwards,  the-  Burgundians  also  perished 
by  discord  and  the  vices  of  their  princes.  The  (roths  took 
possession  of  the  Burgundian  Alps  and  of  Geneva;  the 
Franks,  of  the  rest  of  the  Burgundian  territory. 

But  the  latter,  only,  kept  what  they  won ;  not  so  the 
Goths.  When  their  dominion  came  to  an  end  in  Italy, 
their  power  over  the  Alpine  region  perished  also.  The 
Frank  king,  Dietbert  [Dagobert?],  did  not  hesitate.  He 
marched  with  his  troops,  and  conquered  Bhetia  and  the 
rest  of  the  country.  . 

Thus,  at  last,  after  more  than  five  centuries  of  vicissi- 
tudes and  changes,  all  Helvetia  was  again  united  under 
the  sceptre  of  a  single  sovereign,  as  it  had  been  under  the 
Romans. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

DOMINION    AND    RULE    OF    THE    FRANKS. 
[A.  D.  550  to  900.] 

THE  new  masters  divided  the  country  into  two  parts, 
because  they  had  acquired  possession  of  them  at  different 
times,  and  because  the  inhabitants  themselves  spoke  dif- 
ferent languages.  The  country  occupied  by  the  Allemanni, 
and  where  German  was  spoken,  that  is,  Ehetia  and  Thuri- 


-#00.]  FEUDAL  ORGANIZATION.  17 

gau,*  was  united  to  Suabia.  The  other  districts,  in  which 
Remain  was  spoken,  or  which  had  been  taken  from  the 
Burgundians,  as  Geneva,  Valais,  Neuchatel,  and  what 
now  belongs  to  Berne,  Solothurn,  Freiburg,  and  Yaud, 
were  united  with  Savoy,  and  called  Little  Burgundy. 

The  mighty  kings  of  France,  chiefs  of  a  warlike  people, 
organized  the  governments  of  countries  as  they  did  their 
armies.  They  placed  a  general-in-chief,  or  duke,  over  a 
broad  territory  ;  commandants,  or  counts,  governed  sepa- 
rate portions  of  this  territory,  or  districts ;  and  other  va- 
liant captains  received  large  domains  in  these  districts,  in. 
fee  or  fief.  In  those  times  money  was  rare.  Kings 
therefore  recompensed  the  services  of  their  warriors  with 
lands  and  their  revenue.  Among  the  property  which  they 
gave  away  in  conquered  countries,  all  the  inhabitants,  witn. 
their  houses,  farms  and  cattle  were  included ;  then  the 
inhabitants  became  serfs.  The  serf  could  own  no  prop- 
erty, as  he  was  himself  the  property  of  his  signior,  and 
must  account  to  the  latter  for  all  he  held.  Thurigau  and 
Rhetia  were  under  the  duke  of  Suabia  or  Allemannia, 
and  the  rest  under  the  duke  of  Little  Burgundy. 

Thus  the  whole  country  was  divided,  with  its  inhabit- 
ants and  cattle ;  what  the  king  had  not  given  or  enfeoffed 
to  his  counts,  nobles,  or  officers,  remained  his  own  prop- 
erty, and  was  managed  for  his"  profit.  The  free  Franks 
only,  however  few  in  number,  constituted  the  nation  ;  the 
multitude  of  subjugated  inhabitants  were  counted  for  noth- 
ing, had  no  civil  rights,  were  serfs,  infamous  and  defence- 
less. The  lot  of  these  serfs  was  lamentable,  indeed,  in  the 
early  times ;  their  master  could,  at  his  will,  punish  them, 
give  them  away,  sell  them,  even  put  them  to  death,  with- 
out being  called  to  account.  They  were  hardly  looked 
upon  as  human,  but  rather  as  a  kind  of  cattle  ;  thus  they 
were  united  without  any  marriage  ceremony,  and  the  new- 
born children  became  the  property  of  the  mother's  master, 
when  the  father  belonged  to  another  lord. 

So  barbarous  and  savage  were  those  times. 

*  All  the  region  enclosed  between  the  lake  of  Constance  and  the  Rhine 
on  one  side,  the  Aar  and  the  St.  Gotthard  on  the  other,  was  then  called 
Thurit'au. 

B* 


18  ANCIENT  BISHOPRICS. 

CHAPTER    VII. 

THS    CHRISTIAN    RELIGION    PENETRATES    THE    LAND. 

THROUGH  the  midst  of  the  darkness  of  the  times  carne 
messengers  of  (rod,  pious  men,  to  preach  to  the  heathen 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  to  announce  the  crucified  one. 
They  were  military  men  who  had  heard  the  word  of  eter- 
nal salvation  in  other  countries;  men  of  elevated  rank, 
often  kings'  sons,  who,  like  the  holy  apostles,  renounced 
the  pleasures  of  the  world  to  confess  Jesus  among  the 
heathen.  It  is  said  that,  even  in  the  time  of  the  Romans, 
hardly  two  centuries  after  the  birth  of  the  Savior,  such  a 
king's  son,  named  Lucius,  had  sown  the  seed  of  the  faith 
among  the  Rhetian  mountains,  under  danger  of  death. 
Somewhat  later,  others  came  among  the  Burgundians,  and 
others  also  among  the  Allemanni  in  Thurgau.  They 
gathered  around  them  pious  families,  baptized  young  and 
old  in  the  name  of  God,  established  small  Christian  com- 
munities, built  churches  and  chapels.  They  also  founded 
convents  for  the  promotion  of  education,  prayer  and  faith, 
and  instituted  bishops,  who  were  called  superintendants, 
over  the  other  Christian  teachers  and  communities.  Even 
before  the  country  became  Frank,  there  was  a  bishop  at 
Coire  (Chur)  in  Rhetia,  a  city  which  first  became  import- 
ant towards  the  close  of  the  Roman  dominion ;  also  at 
Augusta  Rauracorum,  at  Vindonissa  and  at  Aventicum, 
as  well  as  at  Geneva  and  at  Octodurum  in  Valais.* 

But  when  the  Franks,  already  Christians,  became  mas- 
ters of  our  country,  then  the  work  of  conversion  was  for 
the  first  time  carried  forward  with  zeal  ;  priests  were  pro- 
tected, bishops  revered,  churches  and  convents  endowed. 
A  tithe  was  imposed  on  the  products  of  the  soil  for  the 

*  The  seats  of  the  Christian  bishoprics  have  not  remained  in  all  these 
cities,  but  in  a  long  course  of  disasters  have  been  removed  to  undestroyed 
places.  Thus  the  bishop's  see  was  transferred  from  the  ruins  of  ancient 
Augusta  Rauracorum  to  Bale,  that  of  Aventicum  to  Lausanne,  that  of 
Vindonissa  to  Constance  on  the  lake  of  this  name,  that  of  Octodurum  to 
Sion  (Sitten)  in  Upper  Valais. 


EARLY  CHRISTIAN  TEACHERS.  19 

support  of  ecclesiastics  ;  voluntary  contributions  increased 
the  magnificence  of  God's  service.  As  money  was  rare, 
contributions  were  more  easily  made  in  products  of  the 
soil  and  in  real  estate.  That  which  was  conferred  on  re- 
ligious institutions  was  looked  upon  as  given,  not  to  mor- 
tal men,  but  to  God,  and  to  the  saints  of  God,  who  were 
revered,  and  as  a  loan  to  be  repaid  by  endless  enjoyments 
after  death.  Thus,  by  degrees,  churches  and  convents  be- 
came wealthy,  rich  in  lands  and  rents. 

From  foreign  countries  came  an  always  increasing  num- 
ber of  preachers  of  the  Cross,  to  extirpate  the  last  remains 
of  paganism.  For,  in  the  thick  forests  which  bordered  the 
lake  of  Zurich,  and  in  the  remote  valleys  among  the  moun- 
tains, long  dwelt  half-savage  men  without  any  knowledge 
of  the  living  God.  Upon  the  heights  of  the  hills  and  in 
the  depths  of  the  woods  they  sacrificed  cattle  and  horses 
as  victims  to  their  idols ;  at  the  beginning  of  each  new 
year  they  made  a  horrible  uproar  with  cries  and  shouts, 
and  by  beating  on  noisy  instruments,  to  drive  away  wicked 
spirits,  sorcerers  and  witches ;  but  welcomed  the  opening 
of  spring  with  huge  bonfires  on  all  the  mountains,  as 
thank-offerings  to  the  good  gods.  Many  superstitious  fears 
about  ghosts  and  spirits  tormented  these  poor  blinded 
heathen ;  they  believed  in  all  kinds  of  presages  and  pre- 
dictions, in  the  influence  of  good  and  evil  days,  and  in 
similar  self-deceptions. 

Therefore  the  pious  men  who  brought  the  tidings  of 
salvation  to  these  heathen  are  to  be  held  in  high  esteem. 
Sigebert  came  from  the  country  of  the  Franks,  and  preached 
in  the  wildernesses  of  Rhetia.  He  built  his  cell  in  the 
rough  angle  of  the  mountains,  where  the  convent  of  Dis- 
entis  now  stands.  Columban  and  Mangold  long  taught 
upon  the  Aar,  the  Beuss  and  the  lake  of  Zurich,  as  did 
the  zealous  Gallus.  The  latter  finally  established  his  her- 
mitage in  the  solitude  of  the  high  mountain- valley,  near 
the  lake  of  Constance,  where,  in  memory  of  him,  stands 
the  convent  of  St.  Gallen.  Among  the  mountains  which 
border  the  lake  of  the  Waldstatten,  the  word  of  God  was 
announced  by  pious  Meinrad,  who  built  his  cell  in  the 
dark  forest  (Finsterwald)  near  the  Sihl,  where  in  our  days 


20  .          BENEFICIAL   EFFECTS 

flourishes  the  convent  of  Einsiedeln  (Our  Lady  of  the  Her- 
mits). A  duke  founded  the  chapter  of  canons  upon  the 
hill  near  Zurich,  and  endowed  it  with  much  property  on 
the  Albis ;  his  brother  built  another  monastery  on  the 
lake  of  the  Waldstatteu,  where  once,  probably  in  the  Ro- 
man time,  there  had  been  a  simple  light  tower  for  vessels, 
and  where  the  city  of  Lucerne  now  shines.  Shortly  after- 
wards, the  rich  count  Bero  erected  near  the  same  place 
another  convent  or  monastery,  even  now  called  Beromun- 
ster. 

But  I  should  be  long  in  coming  to  an  end,  if  I  tried  to 
name  all  the  pious  works  of  that  period.  The  poor  pa- 
gans in  the  districts  saw  the  consecrated  walls  of  churches 
and  convents  rising  on  every  side  ;  all  day  long  they  heard 
the  words  of  salvation  and  of  the  Cross,  and  all  the  night 
long  the  hymns  and  prayers  of  the  monks  in  their  cells. 
Their  hearts  were  moved,  and  they  went  to  baptism. 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  Christianity  of  those 
early  days  was  very  poor  and  feeble ;  conversions  were 
too  numerous  and  too  sudden  ;  the  teachers  were  often  as 
rude  and  ignorant  as  the  hearers  of  the  word.  Whoever 
was  baptized,  had  learnt  a  prayer,  attended  church,  and 
could  make  the  sign  of  the  cross,  was  called  a  Christian, 
even  though  he  had  not  given  up  his  savage  customs  and 
heathen  superstitions.  Saints  were  frequently  placed  upon 
the  seats  of  idols,  and  pagan  feasts  changed  by  name  to 
Christian  festivals.  The  fear  of  the  devil  was  more  pow- 
erful than  the  love  of  God.  Sinners  thought  they  could 
easily  purchase  their  everlasting  salvation,  and  redeem 
themselves  from  hell  by  ceremonies,  and  gifts  to  convents 
and  churches. 

Nevertheless,  the  new  religion  did  not  remain  entirely 
inefficacious.  Dawn  always  precedes  the  brightness  of 
broad  daylight.  The  belief  in  the  one  living  God,  in  the 
compensations  of  eternity,  and  that  we  men  here  below 
are  all  children  of  the  Father  in  Heaven,  became  general. 
Many  pious  priests  and  bishops,  with  their  wives,  shone 
as  bright  examples  among  the  rest  of  the  households  ;  for, 
in  those  days,  marriage  was  not  forbidden  to  priests  and 
bishops.  Many  Christian  lords  bettered  the  condition  of 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  ,         21 

their  subjects,  and  many  serfs  received  privileges  which 
rendered  their  lot  more  endurable.  In  many  convents 
schools  were  established,  and  the  writings  of  ancient  sages 
collected  and  copied  ;  for  the  art  of  printing  was  not  dis- 
covered until  several  centuries  later.  The  light  of  science 
especially  shone  forth  from  the  cells  of  the  abbey  of  St. 
Gallen  upon  the  darkness  of  the  land.  The  people  were 
instructed  in  agriculture  and  rural  economy  by  the  her- 
mits and  monks,  who,  in  their  wildernesses,  extirpated  the 
forests  and  cleared  the  soil ;  fallow  lands  were  broken  up. 
The  people  were  taught  to  burn  lime  and  to  build  with 
stone ;  until  then  they  had  only  miserable  wooden  huts ; 
they  learned  to  weave  wool  and  to  use  woollen  clothes,  in- 
stead of  the  linen  and  skins  they  had  previously  worn. 
They  even  began  to  plant  vines  upon  the  heights  of  lake 
Leman  and  of  the  lake  of  Zurich. 

All  this  was  not,  indeed,  the  work  of  the  monks  alone, 
but  more  especially  of  the  Franks,  when  they  established 
themselves  in  the  country ;  they  brought  with  them  do- 
mestic economy,  the  ox  and  the  plough,  wherever  their 
king  had  granted  to  them,  in  fee  or  in  fief,  lands  with  men 
and  women  slaves  thereon. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

HOW    THE    COUNTRY    BECOMES    PART    OF    THE    GERMAN    EMPIRE,  AND 
CITIES    ARE    BUILT. 

[A.  D.  900  to  1200.] 

THE  kings  of  powerful  France  were  for  a  long  time 
more  mighty  than  all  the  others,  and  the  most  mighty  was 
king  Charlemagne.  He  caused  himself  to  be  crowned  at 
Rome,  as  emperor  of  the  ancient  Roman  empire,  which 
he  proposed  to  reestablish,  and  by  the  name  of  emperor 
he  wished  to  show  that  he  was  a  king  of  kings.  But 
his  sons  and  grandsons  were  always  quarrelling  among 
themselves,  and,  often,  men  of  weak  minds.  Each  wished 


22  THE  HUNGARIANS.  [900- 

to  have  a  portion  of  the  sovereignty,  and  they  divided 
that  vast  empire.  One  took  France,  another  Italy,  a  third 
Germany,  and  they  carried  on  great  wars  against  each 
other  without  cessation.  In  consequence  of  this  division, 
that  portion  of  the  Helvetian  territory  which  had,  until 
then,  been  attached  to  the  duchy  of  Suabia,  became  part 
of  the  German  empire. 

As  there  were  so  many  kings,  and  they  were  continually 
at  war  with  each  other,  great  confusion  prevailed  every 
where.  This  pleased  the  principal  officers  and  governors 
of  the  kings,  that  is,  the  dukes  and  counts.  They  ruled 
thenceforward  without  fear  of  responsibility,  and,  at  their 
deaths,  gave  their  offices  to  their  sons,  considering  the 
duchies  and  counties  as  hereditary  fiefs,  or  even  as  their 
own  properties.  The  duke  of  Suabia  would  obey  no  one; 
the  duke  of  Burgundy  assumed  the  title  of  king.  As  the 
dukes  revolted  against  the  kings,  so  the  counts  revolted 
against  the  dukes,  hired  troops  and  acted  as  sovereigns. 
Even  the  bishops  did  not  remain  idle.  Eminent  and 
powerful  in  their  dioceses  and  domains,  they  imitated  the 
counts  and  dukes,  made  themselves  independent  of  the 
secular  arm,  donned  casque  and  cuirass,  and  rode  at  the 
head  of  their  troops.  As  did  the  bishops  towards  dukes 
and  counts,  so  did  the  pope  of  Rome  towards  emperors  and 
kings ;  assumed  authority  over  them,  over  all  the  bishops 
and  churches  in  their  dominions,  and,  finally,  over  their 
people. 

At  last,  as  a  consequence  of  this  general  confusion,  the 
signiors  and  counts  established  in  Helvetia,  no  longer  paid 
respect  to  the  dukes  of  Suabia,  but,  ruling  by  their  own 
authority,  they  feared  only  the  kings  or  German  emperors, 
or  flattered  them  for  ambitious  purposes.  Usually  at 
variance  with  each  other,  only  a  common  danger  could 
unite  them. 

Such  a  danger  threatened  them  all  at  the  time  when 
Henry,  surnamed  the  Fowler,  ruled  the  German  empire. 
From  the  regions  of  the  East,  from  the  Black  Sea  and 
along  the  Danube,  once  more  appeared  a  warlike  and 
savage  people,  all  on  horseback,  numerous  as  the  sands  of 
the  sea.  They  were  called  Hungarians.  With  sword  and 


-1200.]  PEOPLE'S  FORTRESSES.  23 

fire  they  quickly  swept  over  Germany,  quickly  over  Italy. 
Nothing  stopped  them,  neither  rivers  nor  mountains. 
But  they  did  not  attack  strong  fortresses  and  castles,  be- 
cause they  did  not  understand  the  art  of  besieging.  This 
was  nine  hundred  years  after  the  birth  of  Christ. 

Then  the  emperor  ordered  that  all  large  villages  in  the 
country  should  be  surrounded  with  walls,  ramparts  and 
ditches,  against  these  terrible  enemies.  Thus  St.  Gallen 
and  Bale  were  encircled  by  walls,  because  they  were  on 
the  frontiers,  as  well  as  Zurich  on  the  lake.  These  were 
like  fortresses  for  the  people,  to  which  they  could  flee  with 
their  property  in  case  of  need.  One-ninth  of  the  free  and 
noble  men,  those  who  had  but  little  landed  estate  being 
selected,  were  obliged  to  dwell  in  these  national  fortresses, 
to  defend  them  in  war,  and  govern  them  in  peace.  Thus 
were  founded  the  cities  and  their  councils.  The  free  nobles, 
charged  with  the  city  government,  assumed  the  name  of 
patricians. 

The  example  once  given,  many  people's  fortresses  or  cities 
were  soon  built,  as  Lucerne  and  Solothurn ;  and,  later, 
Schaft'hausen,  at  the  landing-place  of  the  Ehine,  where  this 
stream  makes  its  mighty  rush  over  the  rocks,  took  the 
place  of  the  cluster  of  boat-houses  (Schiffhausern).  As 
in  German  Helvetia,  so  also  in  Burgundian  Helvetia,  when 
the  emperors  at  last  added  this  also  to  the  German  empire, 
and  made  the  dukes  of  Zahringen  imperial  bailiffs  over  it. 
Here  were  already  the  very  ancient  cities  of  Geneva  and 
Lausanne.  To  these  the  imperial  bailiff,  Berthold,  duke 
of  Zahringen,  added  the  city  of  Freiburg,  which  he  built 
in  Uechtland*  (in  1179),  as  a  means  of  offence  and  defence 
against  the  power  of  the  refractory  lords  and  counts  of  the 
neighborhood.  His  son  did  the  same,  and  built  the  city 
of  Berne  on  a  peninsula  formed  by  the  river  Aar,  in  1191. 

All  these,  and  other  cities,  which  rose  up  here  and  there, 
as  open  villages  were  walled  and  fortified,  received  the 
political  organization,  the  franchises  and  privileges  enjoyed 

*  Uechtland:  waste  or  pasture  land;  applied  to  what  was  probably 
the  ancient  Pagus  Aventicensis  of  the  Romans,  embracing  much  of  the 
present  territory  of  Berne,  Neuchatel,  Freiburg,  <fec.,  which  had  been  de- 
vastated by  the  Allemanni, 


24  CITY-ORGANIZATION.  [900- 

by  the  most  ancient  cities  of  Germany.  The  laborers  and 
artisans  who  established  themselves  in  a  city  acquired  the 
rights  of  burghership,  were  obliged  to  keep  a  spear  and  a 
sword  for  defence,  to  pay  taxes  and  contributions,  to  have 
a  fire-bucket  ready  in  each  house ;  for  the  houses  in  cities, 
as  well  as  in  villages,  were  then  built  of  wood.  Impor- 
tant matters  were  discussed  in  a  general  assembly  of  the 
citizens,  but  the  government  of  the  commonwealth  was  en- 
trusted to  a  council  chosen  by  the  burghers,  and  presided 
over  by  an  avoyer  or  burgomaster.  Small  disputes  were 
decided  by  the  council,  but  the  higher  jurisdiction  (blut- 
gericht,  jus-gladii)  belonged  to  the  imperial  bailiff,  the 
vicar  of  the  abbot,  or  the  count's  lieutenant,  in  short,  to 
the  governor  of  the  city,  whoever  he  might  be. 

The  security  found  behind  their  walls  against  inimical 
attacks,  attracted  many  people  to  the  cities ;  the  increase  of 
population  fostered  trade,  commerce  and  the  mechanic 
arts.  Markets  were  established,  to  which  the  countryman 
brought  the  surplus  products  of  his  fields  and  flocks,  and 
where  the  citizen  gave  in  exchange  the  fruits  of  his  industry. 
The  comforts  of  the  citizens  increased  with  their  ingenuity, 
and  softened  their  manners ;  their  union  and  strength 
caused  them  to  be  respected  more  and  more  by  the  signiors 
and  nobles  who  dwelt  in  the  neighborhood,  in  isolated 
castles  and  fortresses.  Dukes,  kings  and  emperors  liked 
to  stop  on  their  journeys,  and  enjoy  the  comforts  of  the 
cities,  to  which  they,  in  return,  granted  various  privileges 
and  franchises.  But  the  prosperity  of  the  cities  excited 
the  jealousy  of  the  counts,  knights  and  signiors  of  the 
country.  They  also  strove  to  increase  their  power  and 
revenues ;  and  to  obtain  new  fiefs  and  grants,  served  with 
redoubled  ardor  the  kings,  dukes  and  convents  ;  or  made 
small  war  upon  their  neighbors,  for  the  sake  of  plunder. 
Several,  who  knew  their  best  interests,  lightened  the  yoke 
of  servitude  which  pressed  upon  their  subjects,  and  were 
pleased  to  see  the  people  increase  upon  their  lands.  As 
by  right  of  conquest  all  the  soil,  with  man  and  beast  and 
tree  (mit  Wohn'  und  Weid'  und  Wald),  had  become  their 
property  or  fief,  they  divided  the  land,  when  arable  or 
pasture,  into  large  farms  or  single  house-lots  (usually  of 


-1200.]  SIGNIORAL   RIGHTS.  26 

twelve  acres),  among  the  householders,  who  paid  therefor 
in  body-service,  in  rent  and  tithes.  Thus  villages,  farms 
and  plantations  were  multiplied.  Every  new  house  on 
signioral  land  paid  a  tribute  in  fowls  and  eggs.  At  the 
death  of  a  vassal,  father  of  a  family,  his  children  gave  to 
their  signior,  or  to  the  convent  from  which  they  held,  the 
best  dress  from  the  chest,  the  best  piece  of  furniture  from 
the  house,  and  the  best  beast  from  the  stable.  After  thus 
satisfying  the  "right  to  the  best  chattels"  (todfalls),  the 
heirs  kept  the  rest  as  if  it  were  their  own  inheritance  and 
property. 

Thus  the  revenues  of  the  signiors  were  increased  by  the 
body-service  and  rents  due  from  their  vassals.  The  un- 
divided lands,  mostly  thick  forest,  remained  the  lord's 
property.  He  allowed  to  his  subjects  and  vassals  all  the 
wood  they  required,  and,  at  his  good  pleasure,  granted  to 
them,  on  a  rent-charge  or  as  a  gratuity,  permission  to 
gather  acorns  for  the  fattening  of  their  swine,  as  well  as 
free  range  for  cattle,  as  far  as  the  limits  of  the  next  hamlet 
or  farm. 

But,  without  permission  of  the  signior,  no  one  could  cut, 
burn  or  clear,  in  whole  or  in  part,  those  forests  of  lofty 
growth,  to  convert  them  into  meadows  or  fields.  Still,  the 
signiors  were  pleased  to  see  households  multiplied  and 
new  farms  established.  Thus  they  allowed  portions  of 
their  woods  to  be  cut  and  cleared,  and  received  ground 
and  clearance-rent  therefor  from  the  new  comers.  In  this 
manner  were  formed  numerous  villages,  even  now  called 
Schwanden  or  Schwoendi,  Ruti  or  Reuti.*  But  the  farmers, 
if  not  before  free,  remained  serfs,  as  their  fathers  had  been, 
and  all  their  possessions  were  considered  the  property  of 
their  signior.  For  the  latter  furnished  to  them,  not  only 
the  soil,  but  also  the  wood  for  a  house  and  stable,  a  plough, 
a  cart,  seeds  for  the  field,  a  hatchet  and  ladder  for  house- 
work, a  cow  for  the  stable,  a  sow  and  pigs,  a  cock  and  hens 
for  the  yard.  This  is  why  they  owed  rent  for  everything, 
with  man-service  in  their  lords'  fields,  cart-work  to  his 

*  Both  these  -words  signify  to  clear;  the  first  by  burning,  the  second 
b\T  felling  or  uprooting,  the  trees  and  bushes. 

2  c 


26  DUES   OF  THE   SERFS.  [l20O- 

castle,  tithes  and  taxes  on  their  crops,  with  cheese,  cloth, 
hens  and  eggs. 

Such  was  the  origin  of  the  cities  and  of  numerous  vil- 
lages in  Switzerland. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

MORE  ABOUT  THE  CITIES  AND  THE  GREAT  SIGNIORS  IN  THE  COUNTRY. 
[A.  D.  1200  to  1290.] 

THTJ"S,  in  proportion  as  the  peasants  gained  in  comforts, 
the  greater  revenue  did  the  numerous  imposts  paid  by 
them  yield  to  the  counts,  nobles,  abbots  and  other  signiors. 
But  especially  did  these  latter  become  free  and  indepen- 
dent when  the  dukes  of  Zahringen  died  out ;  as,  at  their  ex- 
tinction, the  dignity  and  office  of  imperial  lieutenant,  or 
bailiff,  ceased  to  be  hereditary,  and  was  conferred  tempora- 
rily, sometimes  'on  one  count,  sometimes  on  another.  From 
this  moment,  the  nobles  had  no  reason  to  fear  the  over- 
powering force  or  authority  of  any  one  among  their  peers. 
Each  endeavored  to  be  first,  or  hoped  to  become  so. 

At  that  time  flourished  many  noble  families  which  are 
now  extinct.  The  counts  of  Savoy  had  extensive  domains, 
fiefs  and  rights,  in  Yalais  and  in  Yaud,  where  the  bishop 
of  Lausanne  also  reigned  as  sovereign  on  a  small  scale. 
The  counts  of  Neuchatel,  who  granted  great  franchises  to 
the  city  of  that  name,  reigned  over  French  and  German 
districts  on  the  lake  of  Bienne  (Biel),  as  well  as  on  the  Aar 
and  Zihl.  The  counts  of  Kyburg,  who  were  masters  of  all 
the  country  between  Zurich  and  the  lake  of  Constance,  and 
who  built  upon  their  own  territory  the  cities  of  Diessen- 
hofen  on  the  Rhine,  and  of  Winterthur  near  Zurich,  ac- 
fknowledged  no  one  in  the  country  more  powerful  than 
themselves.  Still,  near  them,  in  Aargau,  were  the  counts 
of  Habsburg,  already  long  possessors,  in  their  own  right, 
of  a  large  domain  in  the  region  where  ancient  Vindonissa 
had  nourished.  They  were,  moreover,  patrons  of  the  rich 
abbey  of  Seckingen,  which  held  much  property  in  Glarus  ; 


-1290.]  COUNTS  OF  HABSBURGK  27 

then  they  received  in  fief  the  very  ancient  Burgundian 
county  of  Bore,  in  Aargau.  This  county  extended  as  far 
as  Muri,  where,  two  centuries  before,  the  wife  of  a  count 
of  Habsburg,  then  called  counts  of  Altenburg,  had  founded 
a  Benedictine  abbey  (1025).  On  extinction  of  the  counts 
of  Rore,  their  domains  had  fallen  to  the  counts  of  Lenzburg, 
from  whom  descended  also  the  counts  of  Baden,  and  whose 
great  riches  now  increased  the  eminence  of  the  counts  of 
Habsburg. 

The  counts  of  Rapperswyl,  also,  who  built  the  city  of 
that  name  on  the  lake  of  Zurich,  were  powerful  and  re- 
spected in  the  Marches  of  Rhetia ;  but  the  rich  counts  of 
Toggenburg  were  even  more  so.  The  original  residence 
of  this  family  was  on  a  rock  not  far  from  the  convent  of 
Fischingen.  It  was  there  that  a  count  Henry  of  Toggen- 
burg, in  a  fit  of  jealousy,  threw  his  beautiful  wife  Ida  from 
a  window  of  the  lofty  castle,  because  he  had  seen  her  wed- 
ding-ring on  the  finger  of  one  of  his  servants.  A  raveu 
had  stolen  the  ring  from  an  open  window,  and  afterwards 
dropped  it.  But  Ida,  as  she  fell,  seizing  fast  hold  of  some 
bushes  growing  out  of  the  precipice,  was  saved  by  divine 
providence,  and  her  innocence  manifested.  She  closed  her 
life  in  a  cell  at  Fischingen,  as  she  could  no  longer  love  her 
husband  ;  who,  besides  wreaking  his  anger  upon  her,  had 
caused  the  innocent  servant  to  be  dragged  to  death  at  the 
tail  of  a  wild  horse. 

I  could  also  name  many  other  families  of  counts  and 
barons,  then  very  powerful  signiors,  such  as  the  counts  of 
Werdenberg  and  Sargans,  of  Montfort  and  Sax,  of  Vatz 
and  Rhezuns,  in  Upper  Rhetia,  and  others  in  Burgundian 
and  German  districts.  But  who  would  care  to  know  them 
all,  when  nothing  is  now  left  of  them  but  the  obscure  re- 
membrance of  their  wars,  or  the  traditions  of  their  atro- 
cities, which  still  float  around  the  ruins  of  their  fallen  rock- 
castles. 

Many  of  these  ancient  and  noble  families  became  extinct 
and  forgotten  at  a  very  early  period.  This  happened  quite 
frequently  when  the  opinion  prevaile'd  that  religion  and 
honor  required  men  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem, 
sword  in  hand,  for  the  purpose  of  rescuing  the  holy  sepul- 


28  THE  CRUSADES.  [120O- 

chre  from  the  possession  of  heathens  and  infidels.  Armed 
pilgrims  from  all  Christian  nations  united  in  countless 
numbers,  and  departed,  year  after  year,  for  the  promised 
land,  all  conspicuous  by  the  sign  of  the  Cross  sewed  upon 
their  garments.  Young  and  old  went,  even  children, 
princes,  kings,  emperors,  nuns  and  princesses.  But  of 
thousands  and  thousands,  only  a  few  ever  returned  from 
these  crusades  ;  for  most  of  them  died  on  the  wa.y,  or  per- 
ished in  Asia  and  Africa,  by  hunger,  disease,  the  sword, 
the  plague,  leprosy,  or  in  the  prisons  of  the  infidels.  This 
widowed  many  a  noble  lady,  made  many  a  mother  child- 
less. 

That  which  proved  the  ruin  of  counts  and  knights,  ben- 
efited the  serfs  in  the  villages  and  farms,  and  even  the 
burghers  in  the  cities.  The  serfs  were  treated  with  more 
humanity,  to  induce  them  to  remain  at  home  and  not  seek 
freedom  under  the  banners  of  the  Cross.  Privileges  were 
granted  to  them  that  they  might  be  employed  as  soldiers 
in  internal  wars.  And  the  burghers  of  the  cities  enriched 
themselves  by  all  kinds  of  trade  and  traffic  for  the  arm- 
ing, equipment  and  provisioning  of  the  troops  which  in- 
cessantly departed  for  the  Holy  Land.  An  extensive 
interchange  of  merchandise  took  place  through  Hungary 
with  Greece,  and  through  the  ports  of  Italy  with  Egypt 
and  the  East.  Bale,  especially,  flourished  by  this  com- 
merce, in  which  even  Cyprus  wine  was  brought  there; 
and  Zurich,  where  the  manufacture  of  costly  silks  was 
established. 

As  comforts  and  riches  increased  in  the  new  cities,  the 
burghers  became  more  enterprising,  acquired  greater  priv- 
ileges, and  extended  their  city -territory  by  purchase.  Some 
ransomed  their  cities  from  the  oppressive  sovereignty  of 
the  bishops,  abbots  and  convents,  under  which  they  had 
long  lived,  and  gladly  placed  them  under  the  protection 
of  the  German  empire,  that  they  might  be  subject  to  no 
one  but  the  emperor  himself,  or  to  an  imperial  bailiff  acting 
in  his  name.  The  Solothurners  made  themselves  inde- 
pendent of  the  convent  of  St.  Ursus,  which  had  possessed 
great  influence  in  their  municipal  affairs,  because  it  had 
largely  contributed  to  the  foundation  of  the  commune. 


IMPERIAL  TRIBUTE.  29 

The  abbot  of  the  rich  convent  of  Allerheiligen  (All  Saints) 
had  signioral  rights  over  the  borough  of  Schaffhausen, 
and  exercised  them  by  a  bailiff.  But  now  the  citizens  al- 
lowed him  to  nominate  only  one  half  of  their  council, 
themselves  choosing  the  other  half.  Soon  they  excluded 
the  convent  from  all  share  in  the  government,  and  placed 
themselves,  like  other  cities,  under  the  protection  of  the 
empire.  The  people  of  Bale  did  the  same  with  their 
bishop,  so  that,  by  degrees,  they  became  their  own  mas- 
ters, under  the  safeguard  of  the  empire,  as  Berne  and 
Freiburg  had  long  been,  by  imperial  favor. 

Many  small  cities  followed  the  example  of  the  larger, 
as  they  found  opportunity.  They  took  advantage  of  the 
troubles  of  the  empire.  W  hen  the  kings  or  other  signiors, 
from  whom  they  held,  needed  money,  they  opened  the  city 
purse ;  in  times  of  common  danger,  they  were  ready  with 
hand  and  "sword.  Every  citizen  was  plain  and  economi- 
cal at  home,  but  liberal  for  the  public  good.  The  private 
houses  were  small,  but  the  public  edifices,  council-halls 
and  churches  large  and  stately.  The  artisans  rivalled 
each  other  in  producing  good  work,  and  in  improving 
their  trades  by  care,  industry  and  ingenuity.  The  trades 
corporations  were  watchful  to  prevent  negligence.  Thus 
industrial  pursuits  became  lucrative  and  honorable,  and  no 
one  endeavored  to  appear  more  than  he  really  was.  In 
the  houses  prevailed  piety,  good  faith  and  industry;  in 
the  councils,  justice,  prudence  and  disinterestedness.  No 
one  thought  of  living  at  the  public  expense,  but  the  citi- 
zens were  always  found  ready  to  provide  for  the  wants  of 
the  commonwealth,  and  to  contribute  to  useful  establish- 
ments and  institutions. 

Through  these  means  the  cities  increased,  became  pow- 
erful and  acquired  valuable  franchises,  real  estate,  the  right 
of  levying  taxes,  and  other  advantages.  All  therefore  qn- 
deavored  to  hold  directly  of  the  emperor  and  empire,  and 
to  be  free  of  other  lords,  that  they  might  choose  their  own 
magistrates  and  judges,  and  have  the  sole  management  of 
their  municipal  property.  For  this  purpose  they  willingly 
paid  the  imperial  tribute.  The  emperor's  rights  were  ad- 
ministered by  an  imperial  bailiff,  who  had  the  higher  juris- 

c* 


80  GROWTH  OF  LIBERTY.  [1200- 

diction  also,  because,  as  a  stranger,  he  could  be  more 
impartial  than  one  citizen  towards  another.  In  case  of 
war,  the  cities  chose,  as  protectors  and  general,  some  pow- 
erful and  valiant  signiors  and  counts,  whom  they  paid. 
For  greater  security,  they  often  formed  leagues  with  each 
other,  as  well  as  with  the  imperial  cities  in  Suabia  and  on 
the  Rhine. 

Thus  after  long  subjection  and  servitude,  liberty  began 
to  raise  her  head  among  the  convents  and  castles,  and  es- 
pecially in  the  cities.  No  signioral  tyranny,  whether  from 
within  or  from  without,  can  flourish  on  Swiss  soil.  Here 
noble  freedom  finds  a  home,  as  does  the  eagle  on  the 
rocky  summits  of  the  land. 


CHAPTER    X. 

OF   THE   COMMUNITIES    IN    THE  MOUNTAINS  OF    SCHWYZ,   APPENZELL, 
RHETIA    AND    VALAIS. 

[A.  D.  1200  to  1290.] 

BEHIND  the  lakes,  at  the  foot  of  the  high  Alps,  whither, 
in  very  ancient  times,  probably  after  the  Roman  victories, 
the  last  Cymbri  had  fled,  lived  their  descendants,  separated 
from  the  world.  No  Allemann,  no  Burgundian,  no  Frank, 
had  wished  to  venture  into  their  poor  and  frightful  wilder- 
nesses. Undisturbed,  they  fed  their  herds  upon  unknown 
mountains.  No  knight's  castle  was  to  be  seen  upon  their 
rocks,  no  city  in  their  valleys.  The  Bruchen-buren  long 
had  but  a  single  church  ;  it  stood  in  the  Muottathal ;  thither 
came  the  people  from  Schwyz,  Unterwalden  and  Uri. 
The  inhabitants  of  these  three  valley-districts  were  all  of 
the  same  race  ;  as  they  long  had  but  one  church,  so  they 
lived  under  a  common  government,  formed  of  experienced 
and  upright  men,  chosen  from  among  themselves. 

But  when  the  people  multiplied,  each  valley  built  its 
own  church,  and  chose  its  own  landammann,  council  and 
tribunal.  Thus  Schwyz,  Uri  and  Unterwalden  separated 


-1290.]  IMPERIAL  DOMAINS.  81 

their  commonwealths,  but  acted,  in  important  matters,  a- 
one  undivided  community.  Later  (about  1150)  the  people 
of  Uuterwaldeu  above  the '(forest  of)  Kernwald  separated 
their  interests  from  those  who  dwelt  in  the  villages  below 
the  Kernwald,  and  each  part  of  Unterwalden,  thenceforth, 
had  its  own  council  and  tribunal.  Those  above  the  Wald 
(Obvvaldeners)  had,  according  to  ancient  usage,  been 
obliged  to  pay  two-thirds  of  the  common  expenses,  prob- 
ably because  they  were  originally  more  numerous  than 
those  below  the  Wald  (Nidwaldeners),  and  this  was  felt  to 
be  burdensome  when  the  latter  had  become  as  strong  and 
wealthy  as  themselves.  Although  thus  separated,  they 
remained  united  for  important  purposes,  and  always 
formed,  as  now,  but  one  district  or  canton. 

No  one  pretended  to  any  sovereignty  over  all  these 
mountains,  except  the  emperor,  and  the  people  were  pleased 
to  be  under  the  protection  of  that  powerful  prince.  In  in- 
ternal disputes,  they  usually  had  recourse  to  some  imperial 
judge,  ai.d  most  willingly  to  the  counts  of  Lenzburg. 

In  their  neighborhood  still  existed  vast  wildernesses  and 
unexplored  mountain- valleys.  The  emperors  considered 
such  lands  as  unappropriated,  and,  consequently,  imperial 
domains,  and  often  conveyed  them  to  signiors  or  convents 
as  gifts  or  fiefs.  When  the  wildernesses  were  cleared,  the 
peasants  paid  rent  therefor  to  the  kings,  to  the  counts  of 
Lenzburg  and  Rapperswyl,  to  the  convents  of  Einsiedeln, 
Zurich  and  Beronmnster,  or  to  such  other  ecclesiastical 
and  secular  signiors  as  had  been  invested  by  the  emperor. 
A  pious  baron,  Konrad  of  Seldenburen,  even  built  a  con- 
vent, called  Engelberg  (1083),  in  a  rough  mountain-valley 
of  Unterwaldeii,  at  the  foot  of  snow-covered  mount  Titlis. 
This  so  pleased  the  pope  of  Borne  that  he  took  it  under 
the  immediate  protection  of  the  holy  see. 

The  monastery  of  Einsiedeln,  in  the  same  region,  was 
much  older  and  richer.  The  flocks  of  the  abbot  fed  on  all 
the  mountains,  because  all  the  surrounding  wilderness  had 
formerly  been  conveyed  to  his  community.  The  shep- 
herds of  Schwyz,  ignorant  of  worldly  affairs,  knew  noth- 
ing of  such  a  donation  until  they  suddenly  found  them- 
selves in  conflict  with  the  abbot,  who  sent  his  flocks  into 


32  ABBOTS  OF  ST.   GALLEN.  [LilOO- 

Alps  which  from  time  immemorial  had  descended  to  them 
from  their  fathers.  The  abbot  appealed  for  assistance 
(1113)  to  the  emperor,  who  decided  in  his  favor.  The 
Schwyzers  were  astonished  at  this,  and-said ;  "  If  the  pro- 
tection of  the  emperor  and  the  empire  be  of  no  avail  in 
securing  our  rights,  we  have  no  need  of  it."  Those  of  Uri 
and  Unterwalden  held  with  them,  said  as  they  said,  and 
ceased  to  obey  the  emperor.  This  irritated  the  emperor  ; 
he  put  them  under  ban,  and  the  bishop  of  Constance  anath- 
ematized the  land,  so  that  no  bell  snould  be  rung  in  it, 
and  no  holy  sacrament  be  administered  to  the  living  or 
the  dead,  until  the  emperor  was  obeyed.  This  did  not  in- 
timidate the  Schwyzers,  but  they  compelled  their  priests 
to  celebrate  divine  service  as  before,  and  drove  the  recu- 
sants out  of  the  country.  Their  flocks  multiplied,  and  their 
Alps  remained  fertile,  in  spite  of  the  bishop's  anathema ; 
ana  the  peasants  freely  sent  the  products  of  their  flocks  to 
the  public  markets  of  Zurich  and  Lucerne,  Afterwards, 
when  the  emperor  was  in  need,  and  wanted  valiant  men 
for  his  army,  he  sent  the  count  of  Lenzburg  with  a  friend- 
ly message  to  them.  He  said  :  "  The  emperor  loves  vali- 
ant men ;  go  to  the  war  for  him  as  your  fathers  did,  and 
care  not  for  the  talk  of  the  priests."  At  this,  six  hundred 
young  men  followed  him  to  war  for  the  emperor,  to  obtain 
glory  and  booty,  and  not  one  of  all  the  people  cared  for 
the  talk  of  the  priests. 

In  the  high  mountains  near  the  lake  of  Constance,  also, 
lived  many  free  people,  long  under  the  protection  of  the 
emperor  and  the  empire.  There  the  abbot  of  St.  Gallen 
had  always  possessed  extensive  domains,  and  bonded  serfs 
who  cultivated  his  land,  and  were  called  abb^y-people.  On 
the  Sitter,  at  the  foot  of  the  high  rocky  Alps,  was  the  ab- 
bot's house  and  cell,  whither  the  signior  often  came,  to 
maintain  his  rights.  Many  people  built  houses  at  this 
place,  and  about  the  abbot's  cell  (Abteszelle)  sprang  up 
the  borough  of.Appenzell,  from  which  the  whole  moun- 
tain country  finally  took  its  name.  Over  his  abbey-people 
the  abbot  placed  his  bailiff,  but  the  freemen  at  Appenzell, 
Hundwyl,  Urnaschen  and  Teuffen,  under  the  immediate 
protection  of  the  emperor,  like  the  free  communities  on  the 


-1290.]  THE  WALSORS.  33 

lake  of  the  Waldstatten,  chase  their  landammann,  council 
and  tribunal  from  among  themselves,  and  had  their  impe- 
rial bailiff. 

Still  the  abbots  of  St.  Gallen  by  degrees  acquired  con- 
stantly increasing  rights  over  the  whole  land  by  purchase 
or  donation;  at  last  they  even  obtained  from,  the  emperor 
the  imperial  tribute,  the  penal  jurisdiction  and  the  sover- 
eignty of  these  four  small  imperial  states.  As  this  did  not 
prejudice  the  ancient  liberties  of  the  people,  they  consid- 
ered it  the  same  thing  whether  they  paid  their  tribute  for 
protection  to  an  imperial  bailiff  or  to  a  powerful  abbot. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  convent  of  St.  Gallen  was  well 
content  with  the  fine  tribute  and  dues,  and  did  not  seek  in 
any  way  to  diminish  the  long-inherited  rights  of  the  shep- 
herd-people; and,  that  the  peculiar  abbey -people  might  not 
be  too  different  from  the  rest  who  were  free,  the  abbot 
granted  to  them  authority  to  choose  a  landammann,  with 
other  important  privileges.  This  was  in  recompense  for 
the  fidelity  and  valor  with  which  they  had  often  served 
their  warlike  abbots  in  battle. 

The  poor  people  in  the  Rhetian  highlands  did  not  enjoy 
such  good  fortune.  Hundreds  and  hundreds  of  strong 
castles  of  counts  and  barons  hung  on  the  steep  rocks  in  all 
their  valleys,  like  a  slave-chain  on  the  neck  of  their  coun- 
try. There  were  the  bishop  of  Coire,  the  abbots  of  Disentis 
and  Pfeffers,  the  counts  of  Bregenz,  Werdenberg,  Mont- 
fort,  Metsch  and  Misox,  the  rich  barons  of  Rhezuns,  Mon- 
talt,  Aspermont,  Batz,  and  many  other  powerful  nobles. 
The  city  of  Coire  alone  enjoyed  important  rights  under 
the  sovereignty  of  her  bishops,  and  here  and  there  an  iso- 
lated valley,  such  as  the  Pregallerthal,  on  the  Italian  bor- 
der, possessed  hereditary  privileges.  All  the  rest  of  the 
people,  who  generally  spoke  Romantsch,*  were  and  re- 
mained tributary,  subject  to  labor-dues,  and  serfs.  Only 
the  Walsors,  who  spoke  German,  were  free  in  their  farms 
and  hamlets,  as  the  Franks  had  found  them  when  they 
conquered  the  land.  It  is  said  that  these  Walsors  were 

*  Said  to  be  the  ancient  popular  Latin  idiom,  the  language  of  fugitives 
from  Italy,  driven  out  by  the  Gauls. 

2* 


34  COUNTS  OF  SAVOY.  [1290. 

fugitives  of  Allemannic  race,  who  sought  refuge  here  in  the 
time  of  the  Gothic  dominion,  and  inhabited  secluded  moun- 
tain-valleys, the  rough  Avers,  and  Brettigau  in  the  Rhine- 
wald,  at  the  foot  of  the  Rhine  glacier.  The  same  people, 
also,  first  inhabited  and  rendered  productive  the  frightful 
solitudes  of  Davos,  which  they  received  in  fief  from  the 
baron  of  Batz  (1250). 

Many  counts  and  signiors  also  ruled  in  Valais,  where  the 
city  of  Sion  preserved  its  municipal  privileges,  with  great 
difficulty,  under  a  burgomaster  and  council.  In  Lower 
Valais,  the  count  of  Savoy  was  long  among  the  most 
"powerful,  but  in  Upper  Valais,  the  bishop  of  Sion.  The 
mountaineers  in  the  valleys  and  communes  of  Upper  Va- 
lais, all  speaking  German,  had  also  valiant  German  hearts, 
and  maintained  the  ancient  freedom  of  their  forefathers. 
They  had  divided  their  country  into  seven  Zehnten  (tith- 
ings).  The  council  of  the  country  was  formed  of  repre- 
sentatives from  the  Zehnten,  and  presided  over  by  their 
captain-general.  Thus,  under  the  protection  of  their  own 
laws,  they  fed  their  flocks  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhone, 
even  to  its  sources  among  the  everlasting  ice  of  the  moun- 
tains. 


CHAPTER    XL 

ABOUT   THE   GOOD   EMPEROR,  RUDOLF  OP  HAB8BURG,  AND   THE   EVIL 
DESIGNS    OF    HIS    SON    ALBERT. 

[A.  D.  1291  to  130T.] 

AT  this  period,  no  signior  in  Switzerland  was  so  re- 
spected for  bis  humanity  and  probity,  as  well  as  valor,  as 
count  Rudolf  of  Habsburg.  His  castle  was  on  the  Wul- 
pelsberg  in  Aargau.  The  cities  of  Aarau,  Baden,  Melli- 
gen,  Diessenhofen,  Sursee  and  others  had  him  for  their 
bailiff.  The  Schwyzers  also  requested  him  to  be  theirs, 
in  consequence  of  the  trouble  then  existing  on  account  of 
the  quarrel  between  the  emperor  and  pope.  Already  (in 
1251),  Uri,  Schwyz  and  Zurich  had  formed  a  league  with 


1291.]  INCREASE   OF  FRANCHISES.  85 

each  other  to  withstand  the  nobles  in  their  castles.  Zurich 
chose  count  Kudolf  for  her  general. 

Kudolf  was  not  so  much  beloved  by  the  burghers  of 
Bale,  though  more  than  were  his  noble  brothers-in-arms 
and  friends.  In  consequence  of  these  latter  having,  on 
a  day  of  the  Carnival,  insulted  the  beautiful  wives  and 
daughters  of  Bale,  many  bloody  conflicts  took  place,  and 
several  of  the  audacious  nobles  fell  under  the  blows  of  the 
vigorous  citizens.  The  defeat  of  his  friends  offended  the 
count  of  Habsburg,  and,  to  avenge  them,  he  marched 
against  the  city  with  numerous  troops. 

This  war,  however,  came  to  a  speedy  and  happy  con- 
clusion. For  the  dukes  and  princes  of  Germany,  on  the 
death  of  their  emperor,  having  long  disputed  who  should 
be  their  king,  at  last  elected  count  Rudolf  of  Habsburg.* 
"They  chose  him,"  as  said  the  elector  of  Cologne,  "be- 
cause he  was  wise  and  just,  and  beloved  of  God  and  men." 

When  the  Balese  learnt  that  their  enemy  had  become 
their  king,  they  issued  from  their  gates  with  every  mark 
of  respect,  and  invited  him  and  his  people  to  enter  the 
city.  Friendship  was  sworn  on  both  sides.  Joy  and  as- 
tonishment filled  all  the  land.  The  principal  men  of  the 
cities  and  of  the  country  hastened  to  Brugg  to  congratulate 
the  count  and  his  wife. 

Although  upon  the  first  throne  in  Christendom,  and  in 
a  distant  country,  emperor  Rudolf,  during  his  whole  life, 
remained  attached  to  the  people  of  his  native  land.  He 
granted  new  dignities  to  their  nobility,  new  franchises  to 
their  cities,  or  confirmed  by  his  kingly  word  those  they 
already  possessed.  The  people  of  Zurich,  Schaffhausen 
and  Solothurn  were  to  be  held  to  answer  only  before  their 
own  judges  and  according  to  their  own  laws  ;  Laupen  and 
Lucerne  received  the  same  franchises  as  Berne,  and  Lu- 
cerne held  directly  from  the  empire  ;  Bienne  received  the 
same  municipal  franchises  as  Bale  ;  Aarau  was  not  obliged 
to  recognize  any  other  judge  than  her  own  avoyer  ;  Win- 
terthur,  Diessenhofen  and  other  cities  acquired  other  and 
similar  rights.  He  confirmed  to  the  three  Waldstatten 

*  King  of  the  Germans  and  emperor  of  th.e.  Holy  Roman  empire. 


86  THE   PERPETUAL  BOND.  [1201- 

(Uri,  Schwyz  and  Unterwalden)  the  perpetual  right  of 
immediate  dependence  on  the  empire;  he  elevated  the 
bishop  of  Lausanne  and  the  abbot  of  Einseideln  to  the  dig- 
nity of  princes  of  the  empire.  In  the  Romain  districts, 
where  the  counts  of  Savoy  domineered,  he  reestablished 
the  imperial  power  by  force  of  arms,  relieved  Lausanne 
and  Freiburg  from  the  yoke  of  Savoy,  and  made  again 
free  of  the  empire  whatever  places  had  formerly  been  so. 
Foi  these  things,  the  cities  and  country  testified  their 
gratiiude  to  him  by  abundant  supplies  in  money  and  men. 

But  other  times  came,  when  he  was  dead  and  his  son 
Albert  ascended  the  throne.*  It  was  soon  known  that  the 
latter  looked  only  to  the  extension  of  his  family  domain 
by  the  incorporation  of  foreign  territory,  and  that  he  disre 
garded  the  franchises  of  the  cities  and  the  country.  There 
fore  all  feared  for  themselves.  Then  the  people  of  Uri, 
Schwyz  and  Unterwalden,  anticipating  evil  and  dangerous 
times,  assembled  (1291)  and  swore  to  a  Perpetual  Bond,f 
by  which  they  agreed  to  defend  themselves  and  their  fami- 
lies, with  goods  and  chattels,  against  all  and  every,  who- 
ever they  might  be,  and  to  assist  each  other  with  advice 
and  arms.  Thenceforward  they  were  called  Confederates 
(Eidsgenossen :  bound  together  by  oath).  The  bishop  of 
Constance  also  united  in  league  with  the  counts  of  Savoy 
and  with  other  counts  and  signiors  against  the  king  s 
designs,  as  well  as  with  the  abbot  of  St.  Gallen  and  the 
city  of  Zurich.  The  German  princes  hated  him  no  less, 
and  chose  count  Adolph  of  Nassau  for  their  sovereign. 

Now  partisan  wars  spread  everywhere,  for  and  against 
Albert  of  Austria,  from  country  to  country,  from  city  to 
city.  Berne  held  with  the  count  of  Savoy,  and  made  a 
league  with  Freiburg  and  Solothurn.  Albert,  with  an  army 
of  Austrians,  immediately  invaded  and  ravaged  the  terri- 
tory of  the  bishop  of  Constance.  In  a  bloody  battle  he 
took  from  king  Adolf  victory,  life  and  the  imperial  crown. 
Then  the  confederates  of  the  Waldstatten  sent  to  him  at 
Strassburg,  to  request  him  to  guarantee  their  ancient  fran- 

*  The  counts  of  Habsburg  had  also  become  dukes  of  Austria, 
f  Bund:  league,  compact,  treaty.     I  use  the  word  Bond  to  distinguish 
that  between  the  Swiss  cantons  from  all  others. — TR. 


"-1B07.J  GESSLER  AND   LANDENBERG.  87 

chises,  as  his  father  of  glorious  memory  had  done.  But  he 
answered  that  he  thought  of  shortly  proposing  a  change 
in  their  situation.  This  reply  greatly  terrified  the  Con- 
federates. 

Cries  of  war  and  the  clash  of  arms  resounded  through 
all  Uechtland,  from  Solothurn  to  lake  Leman.  The  signiors 
and  counts,  who  were  partisans  of  Albert,  and  hated  the 
cities  and  their  increasing  power,  marched  against  Berne. 
But  the  valiant  burghers  of  the  city,  with  auxiliaries  from 
Solothurn  and  other  places,  and  commanded  by  the  expe- 
rienced Ulrich  of  Erlach,  totally  defeated  (1298)  the  supe- 
rior forces  of  the  enemy  at  Donnerbuhl,  took  and  destroyed 
many  castles  and  towers  of  the  nobles,  so  that  the  renown 
of  the  city  became  great  throughout  all  the  land.  There- 
upon king  Albert  himself  entered  the  country  and  encamped 
before  Zurich,  on  a  hill  whence  he  could  look  into  the 
streets  of  the  city.  The  Zurichers  did  not  close  their 
gates,  though  they  were  prepared  for  a  vigorous  resistance, 
but  sent  word  that  they  were  ready  to  acknowledge  him  as 
king,  provided  he  acknowledged  their  franchises.  As  he 
had  brought  but  few  besieging  engines  with  him,  and  saw 
so  many  armed  people  in  the  city  (for  even  the  wives  and 
daughters  had  taken  arms),  he  showed  peaceful  inclinations 
and  confirmed  the  free  constitution  of  the  city. 

But  he  informed  the  Confederates  in  the  Waldstatten  that 
he  wished  to  have  them  as  dear  children  of  his  royal  house, 
and  that  they  would  do  well  to  place  themselves  under  the 
protection  01  Austria,  as  faithful  subjects ;  that  he  would 
make  them  rich  by  fiefs,  knighthoods  and  booty.  But 
when  the  mountaineers  replied  that  they  much  preferred 
to  remain  in  the  ancient  rights  of  their  fathers,  and  in  im- 
mediate dependence  on  the  empire,  he  sent  to  them,  as 
imperial  bailiffs,  severe  and  wicked  men  from  his  own  ter- 
ritory, to  oppress  and  harass  them,  that  they  might  be 
desirous  to  detach  themselves  from  the  empire,  and  put 
themselves  under  the  sovereignty  of  the  house  of  Austria. 
He  sent  Hermann  Gessler  of  Brunegg  and  the  knight 
Beringer  of  Landenberg.  They  did  as  imperial  bailiffs  had 
never  before  done,  and  took  up  their  abode  in  the  land. 
Landenberg  went  to  the  king's  castle,  near.  Sarnen  in  Ob- 


88  MELCHTHAL,   FURST  [A.  D. 

walden,  and  Gessler  built  for  himself  a  tower  in  the  country 
of  Uri.  The  taxes  were  increased,  the  smallest  offences 
punished  by  imprisonment  and  heavy  fines,  the  country- 
people  treated  with  haughtiness  and  contempt.  Gessler, 
passing  on  horseback  before  Stauffacher's  new  house,  in 
the  village  of  Steinen,  cried  out  insultingly,  "  Shall  peas- 
ants be  allowed  to  build  so  finely  ?"  And  when  Arnold 
Anderhalden,  of  Melchthal  in  Unterwalden,  was  condemned 
for  some  slight  offence  to  lose  a  yoke  of  fine  oxen,  Landen- 
berg's  servant  took  the  oxen  from  the  plough  and  said, 
"  Peasants  may  draw  the  plough  themselves."  But  young 
Arnold,  irritated  by  this  insult,  struck  the  servant  and 
broke  two  of  his  fingers.  Then  he  fled  into  the  mountains. 
In  revenge,  Landenberg  put  out  both  the  eyes  of  Arnold's 
old  father. 

Whoever,  on  the  contrary,  adhered  to  the  bailiff  and  did 
his  will,  was  treated  with  indulgence  and  was  always  in 
the  right.  But  all  did  not  escape,  who,  trusting  in  the 
protection  of  the  bailiff,  thought  themselves  entitled  to  do 
evil ;  and,  as  there  was  no  longer  any  justice  to  be  had  in 
the  land,  each  man  helped  himself,  and  this  occasioned 
many  disorders.  But  the  bailiffs  laughed  and  persisted  in 
their  tyranny  ;  they  not  only  trod  under  foot  the  chartered 
franchises  of  the  people,  sanctioned  by  emperors  and  kings, 
but  disregarded  the  everlasting  right  to  life  which  God 
has  given  to  every  man. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

OF   WILLIAM    TELL    AND    THE    THREE    MEN    IN    RUTLI. 
[A.  D.  1307.] 

WHILE  the  oppressors  laughed  and  the  oppressed 
groaned  in  the  valleys  of  the  Waldstatten,  the  wife  of 
Werner  Stauffacher,  in  the  village  of  Steinen,  said  to  her 
husband :  "  How  long  shall  the  oppressors  laugh  and  the 
oppressed  groan?  Shall  foreigners  be  masters  of  this 
soil,  and  heirs  of  our  property  ?  What  are  the  men  of  the 


1807.]  AND  STAUFFACHER.  39 

mountains  good  for?  Must  we  mothers  nurse  beggars  at 
our  bosoms,  and  bring  up  maid-servants  for  foreigners  ? 
Let  there  be  an  end  to  this !" 

Thereupon  Werner  Stauffacher,  without  a  word,  went 
down  to  Brunnen  on  the  lake,  and  over  the  water  to  Uri, 
to  Walter  Furst,  in  Attinghausen,  With  him  he  found 
concealed  Arnold  of  Melchthal,  who  had  fled  across  the 
mountain  from  the  wrath  of  Landeuberg. 

They  talked  of  the  misery  of  their  country,  and  of  the 
cruelty  of  the  foreign  bailiffs  whom  the  king  had  sent  to 
them,  in  contempt  of  their  hereditary  franchises  and  lib- 
erties. They  also  called  to  mind  that  they  had  in  vain 
appealed  against  the  tyranny  of  the  bailiffs  before  the  king, 
and  that  the  latter  had  threatened  to  compel  them,  in  spite 
of  the  seals  and  charters  of  former  emperors  and  kings,  to 
separate  from  the  empire  and  submit  to  Austria  5  that  God 
had  given  to  no  king  the  right  to  commit  injustice ;  that 
they  had  no  hope  but  in  God  and  their  own  courage,  and 
that  death  was  much  more  desirable  than  so  shameful  a 
yoke.  They  therefore  resolved  that  each  should  talk  with 
trustworthy  and  courageous  men  in  his  own  district,  to  as- 
certain the  disposition  of  the  people,  and  what  they  would 
undertake  for  security  and  liberty. 

Subsequently,  as  they  had  agreed,  they  met  frequently 
by  night,  at  a  secret  place  on  the  lake.  It  lay  about  mia- 
way  between  Uri,  Schwyz  and  Unterwalden,  in  a  small 
bushy  meadow  at  the  foot  of  tfee  rocks  of  Seelisberg,  oppo- 
site the  little  village  of  Brunnen.  It  is  called  Rutli,  from 
the  clearing  of  bushes  ;  there  they  were  far  from  all  human 
habitations.  Soon  each  brought  the  joyful  news  that  death 
was  more  desirable  to  all  the  people  than  so  shameful  a  yoke. 

When,  on  the  night  of  17th  of  November,  1307,  they 
came  together,  and  each  of  the  Three  had  brought  witn. 
him  to  the  meadow  of  the  Rutli,  ten  true  and  honorable 
men,  determined  to  hold  the  ancient  liberty  of  their  father- 
land before  all,  and  life  as  nothing,  the  pious  Three  raised 
their  hands  to  the  starry  heavens,  and  swore  to  God  the 
Lord,  before  whom  kings  and  peasants  are  equal,  faithfully 
to  live  and  to  die  for  the  rights  of  the  innocent  people ;  to 
undertake  and  carry  through  every  thing  in  unison  and 


40  THE  OATH.  [iSOT. 

not  separately ;  to  permit  no  injustice,  but  also  to  commit 
no  injustice;  to  respect  the  rights  and  property  of  the 
counts  of  Habsburg,  and  do  no  harm  to  the  imperial 
bailiffs,  but  also  to  prevent  the  bailiffs  from  ruining  the 
country.  And  the  thirty  others  raised  their  hands  and 
took  the  oath,  like  the  Three,  to  God  and  all  the  saints, 
manfully  to  assert  liberty ;  and  they  appointed  New  Year's 
night  for  the  work.  Then  they  separated ;  each  returned 
to  his  valley  and  to  his  cabin,  and  tended  his  cattle. 

The  bailiff,  Hermann  Gessler,  was  not  easy,  because  he 
had  an  evil  conscience.  It  seemed  to  him  that  the  people 
began  to  raise  their  heads,  and  to  show  more  boldness. 
Therefore  he  set  the  ducal  hat  of  Austria  upon  a  pole  in 
Uri,  and  ordered  that  every  one  who  passed  before  it  should 
do  it  reverence.  By  this  means  he  wished  to  discover  who 
was  opposed  to  Austria. 

And  William  Tell,  the  archer  of  Burglen,  one  of  the 
men  of  Rutli,  passed  before  it,  but  he  did  not  bow.  He 
was  immediately  carried  to  the  bailiff,  who  angrily  said, 
"Insolent  archer,  I  will  punish  thee  by  means  of  thine 
own  craft ;  I  will  place  an  apple  on  the  head  of  thy  little 
son ;  shoot  it  off  and  fail  not !"  And  they  bound  the  child, 
and  placed  an  apple  on  his  head,  and  led  the  archer  far 
away.  He  took  aim.  The  bowstring  twanged.  The  ar- 
row pierced  the  apple.  All  the  people  shouted  for  joy. 
But  Gessler  said  to  the  archer,  "Why  didst  thou  take  a 
second  arrow  ?"  Tell  answered,  "  If  the  first  had  not 
pierced  the  apple,  the  second  would  assuredly  have  pierced 
thy  heart." 

This  terrified  the  bailiff,  and  he  ordered  the  archer  to  be 
seized  and  carried  to  a  boat  in  which  he  was  himself  about 
to  embark  for  Kussnacht.  He  did  not  think  it  prudent  to 
imprison  Tell  in  Uri,  on  account  of  the  people ;  but  to  drag 
him  into  foreign  captivity  was  contrary  to  the  privileges  of 
the  country.  Therefore  the  bailiff  feared  an  assembling 
of  the  people,  and  hastily  departed,  in  spite  of  a  strong 
head  wind.  The  sea  rose,  and  the  waves  dashed  foaming 
over  the  boat,  so  that  all  were  alarmed,  and  the  boatmen 
disheartened.  The  further  they  went  on  the  lake,  the 
greater  was  the  danger  of  death ;  for  the  steep  mountains 


1308.]  DEATH   OF  GESSLER.  41 

rose  from  the  abyss  of  waters  like  walls  to  heaven.  In 
great  anxiety,  Gessler  ordered  the  fetters  to  be  removed 
from  Tell,  that  he,  an  experienced  steersman,  might  take 
the  helm.  But  Tell  steered  towards  the  bare  flank  of  the 
Axenberg,  where  a  naked  rock  projects,  like  a  small  shelf, 
into  the  lake.  There  was  a  shock,  a  spring.  Tell  was  on 
the  rock,  the  boat  out  upon  the  lake. 

The  freed  man  climbed  the  mountain,  and  fled  across  the 
land  of  Schwyz;  and  he  thought  in  his  troubled  heart, 
"  Whither  can  I  fly  from  the  wrath  of  the  tyrant  ?  Even 
if  I  escape  from  his  pursuit,  he  has  my  wife  and  child  in 
my  house  as  hostages.  What  may  not  Gessler  do  to  my 
family,  when  Landenberg  put  out  the  eyes  of  the  old  man 
of  Melchthal  on  account  of  a  servant's  broken  fingers? 
Where  is  the  judgment-seat  before  which  I  can  cite  Gess- 
ler, when  the  king  himself  no  longer  listens  to  the  com- 
plaints of  the  people  ?  As  law  has  no  authority,  and  there 
is  no  one  to  judge  between  thee  and  me,  thou  and  I,  Gess- 
ler, are  both  without  law,  and  self-preservation  is  our  only 
judge.  Either  my  innocent  wife  and  child  and  fatherland 
must  fall,  or,  bailiff  Gessler,  thou!  Fall  thou,  therefore, 
and  let  liberty  prevail !" 

So  thought  Tell,  and,  with  bow  and  arrow,  fled  towards1 
Kussnacht,  and  hid  in  the  hollow  way  near  the  village. 
Thither  came  the  bailiff;  there  the  bowstring  twanged; 
there  the  free  arrow  pierced  the  tyrant's  heart. 

The  whole  people  shouted  for  joy  when  they  learnt  the 
death  of  their  oppressor.  Tell's  deed  increased  their  cour- 
age ;  but  the  night  of  the  New  Year  had  not  yet  come. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  NE\V"  TEAR'S  MORNING  OF  1308.     BATTLE  FOR  FREEDOM  AT 
MORGARTEN.     LUCERNE  JOINS  THE  CONFEDERATES. 

[A.  D.  1808  to  1834.] 

THE  night  came.    One  of  the  young  men  who  had  taken 
the  oath  at  Rutli,  went  to  the  castle  of  Eossberg  in  Obwal- 


42  EXPULSION  OF  LANDENBERG.  [1308- 

den,  where  lived  a  young  girl  beloved  by  him.  With  a 
rope  the  young  girl  drew  him  up  from  the  castle-ditch  into 
her  chamber.  But  twenty  others  were  waiting  below, 
whom  the  first  drew  up  also.  When  all  had  entered, 
they  mastered  the  steward  and  his  servants  and  the  whole 
castle. 

When  it  was  day,  Landenberg  left  the  royal  castle  near 
Sarnen  to  attend  mass.  Twenty  men  of  Unterwalden  met 
him,  bearing,  as  customary  presents,  fowls,  goats,  lambs,  and 
other  New  Year's  gifts.  The  bailiff,  in  a  friendly  manner, 
told  them  to  enter  the  castle.  When  under  the  gate,  one  of 
them  sounded  his  horn.  At  once,  all  drew  forth  sharp  spear- 
heads, fastened  them  upon  their  staves,  and  took  the  castle, 
while  thirty  others,  who  had  been  hidden  in  a  neighboring 
thicket,  came  to  their  assistance.  Landenberg,  terrified, 
fled  over  the  meadows  towards  Alpnach.  But  they  took 
him,  and  made  him  and  all  his  people  swear  to  leave  the 
Waldstatten  forever.  Then  they  permitted  him  to  retire 
to  Lucerne.  No  injury  was  done  to  any  one. 

High  blazed  the  bonfires  on  the  Alps. 

With  the  people  of  Schwyz,  StaufFacher  went  to  the 
lake  of  Lowerz,  and  seized  the  castle  of  Schwanau.  The 
people  of  Uri  marched  out,  and  Gessler's  tower  was  taken 
by  assault. 

High  blazed  the  bonfires  on  the  Alps." 

That  was  Freedom's  New  Year's  day.  On  the  following 
Sunday,  deputies  from  the  three  districts  assembled,  and, 
with  an  oath,  renewed  their  original  bond  for  ten  years; 
and  the  bond  was  to  endure  forever  and  to  be  often  re- 
newed. They  had  reassumed  their  ancient  rights,  had 
shed  no  drop  of  blood,  and  had  done  no  harm  to  any,  be- 
longing to  the  king  or  to  Habsburg,  in  the  land. 

When  king  Albert  learnt  what  had  taken  place,  he  was 
exceedingly  incensed,  assembled  troops,  and,  in  company 
with  many  noble  lords,  rode  into  Aargau.  With  him  was 
also  his  nephew  and  ward,  duke  John  of  Suabia,  from 
whom  he  had  withheld  his  patrimony.  As,  on  the  1st  of 
May,  1308,  having  left  Baden,  he  was  crossing  the  Reuss 
near  Windisch,  duke  John  cried  out,  "  This  is  the  reward 
of  injustice !"  and  pierced  the  monarch's  throat  with  his 


-1834.]  ASSASSINATION  OF  ALBERT.  48 

lance.  Other  lords,  who  had  conspired  with  the  duke,  fol- 
lowed his  example.  Knight  Rudolf  of  Balm  plunged  his 
sword  into  the  king's  bosom,  Walter  of  Eschenbach  clove 
his  head.  The  rest  remained  motionless,  in  horror  at  the 
crime.  Finally,  they  all  dispersed.  The  emperor  of  Ger- 
many expired  in  the  arms  of  a  poor  woman,  who  passed, 
by  chance,  along  the  road. 

This  crime  occasioned  horror  everywhere.  The  murderers 
wandered  and  died,  cursed  of  men.  Zurich  closed  her 
gates  against  them ;  the  Waldstatten  would  grant  no  asy- 
lum to  the  assassins  of  their  enemy.  But  the  children  of 
the  murdered  man,  duke  Leopold  of  Austria,  and  Agnes, 
queen  of  Hungary,  and  his  widow,  queen  Elizabeth, 
wreaked  their  vengeance  on  innocent  and  guilty.  The 
most  cruel  of  all  was  Agnes.  Many  castles  of  the  sus- 
pected were  reduced  to  ashes :  "Wart,  Fahrwangen,  Masch- 
wangen,  Altburen.  When,  at  Fahrwangen,  the  blood 
of  sixty-three  guiltless  knights  flowed  at  the  feet  of  Agnes, 
she  is  said  to  have  exclaimed :  "  See,  now  I  am  bathing  in 
May-dew!"  In  vain  did  the  wife  of  knight  Rudolf  of 
Wart  beg  before  her  in  the  dust  for  the  life  of  her  hus- 
band. His  limbs  were  broken,  and,  still  living,  he  was 
exposed  on  the  wheel*  to  the  voracity  of  birds  of  prey. 
From  the  wheel,  while  dying,  he  consoled  his  faithful 
wife,  who  alone  knelt  near  him,  and  prayed  and  wept 
till  his  dear  soul  had  fled.  But  Agnes  and  her  mother 
built  the  rich  convent  of  Kcenigsfelden  on  the  spot  of 
the  emperor's  assassination.  She  herself  retired  thither, 
to  close  her  days  in  devotion.  But  brother  Berthold 
Strebel,  of  Oftringen,  filled  with  indignation,  said  to  her, 
one  day,  as  she  was  inviting  passers-by  to  enter  her 
church:  "Woman!  that  is  poor  God's-service,  which 
sheds  innocent  blood,  and  builds  a  convent  with  the 
spoil !" 

Neither  did  duke  Leopold  forgive  the  Waldstatten  for 

*  A  person  suffering  this  punishment  was  first  fastened,  face  upwards, 
upon  a  large  wheel  raised  horizontally  on  a  shaft ;  then  his  limbs  were 
broken  by  repeated  blows  with  an  iron  bar,  and  he  was  left  to  die,  unless, 
in  mercy,  a  final  blow  upon  the  chest  terminated  his  torments  and  his  life 
together. 


44  REDING   OF   BIBEREGGL  [1308- 

their  resistance  to  his  father,  especially  when  he  saw  that 
they  preferred  the  emperor,  Louis  of  Bavaria,  to  his 
brother,  Frederick  of  Austria.  He  marched  against  them 
with  many  knights  and  signiors,  and  a  large  force.  Count 
Otto  of  Strassburg  crossed  the  Brunig  against  Obwalden, 
with  four  thousand  men.  More  than  a  thousand  soldiers 
were  sent  by  the  governors  of  Willisau,  Wollhausen  and 
Lucerne,  to  attack  the  country  of  Unterwalden  from  the 
lake.  The  duke  himself  advanced  with  the  best  of  his 
troops  from  Aegeri,  by  Morgarten,  against  the  mountains 
of  the  Schwyzers.  He  carried  with  him  numerous  ropes 
to  hang  the  leaders  of  the  people. 

The  Confederates,  to  oppose  his  power,  stationed  them- 
selves, thirteen  hundred  strong,  on  the  height  near  the 
march  of  Einsiedeln.  Four  hundred  of  Uri,  three  hun- 
dred of  Unterwalden,  had  joined  the  Schwyzers.  Also, 
fifty  men  to  Schwyz,  who  had  been  banished,  came  and 
begged  permission  to  show  themselves  worthy  of  restora- 
tion to  their  country  by  deeds  of  valor.  As,  on  the  16th 
of  November,  1315,  the  many  thousand  harnessed  knights, 
in  the  rosy  dawn  of  morning,  were  ascending  the  mountain, 
the  Confederates,  with  loud  cries,  rushed  upon  them  at  a 
small  plain  near  the  Hasellmat,  and  on  the  broad  grassy 
slope  of  the  mountain.  The  fifty  banished  men  rolled 
down  huge  masses  of  rock  from  the  heights  of  the  Siegler- 
Flue,  then  broke  forth  from  the  morning-mist  upon  the 
disarrayed  enemy.  There  was  great  disorder  among  the 
troops  of  the  duke,  then  flight  and  rout.  Leading  the 
Schwyzers  with  word  and  deed  were  Henry  of  Ospenthal 
and  the  sous  of  old  Eeding  of  Biberegg,  who  had  given 
the  plan  of  the  battle.  The  enemy  were  driven  into  the 
defile  below  at  Aegeri.  The  flower  of  the  nobility  fell  at 
Morgarten  under  the  halberds  and  maces*  of  the  shepherds. 
Leopold  saved  himself  with  difficulty  from  the  victorious 
pursuers.  Then,  on  the  following  day,  the  victors  hastened 
across  the  lake  of  the  Waldstatten  towards  Unterwalden  ; 
there  they  defeated  the  Lucerners,  many  of  whom  were 
drowned  in  the  lake.  Strassburg  saw  this,  and  fled  terri- 

*  Called  Morgensternen :  morning  stars ;  clubs  armed  with  iron  points. 


-1334.]        CONSPIRACY  OF  THE  NOBLES.  46 

fied.  After  this  great  heroic  day,  the  Confederates  re- 
newed their  ancient  bond,  to  die,  all  for  each,  each  for  all ; 
to  enter  into  no  engagement  with  foreign  powers  except 
with  consent  of  all ;  to  respect  foreign  property  and  rights 
in  the  country,  as  their  own.  Thus  the  name  of  Schwyzers 
(Swiss)  became  world-renowned,  and  afterwards  was  the 
name  of  all  the  Confederates.  The  aid  of  their  formidable 
arms  was  soon  demanded  in  the  wars  of  the  empire.  Their 
intercession  saved  the  liberties  of  Zurich  and  St.  Gallen, 
when  the  emperor,  in  want  of  money,  wished  to  pledge 
these  imperial  cities  to  the  dukes  of  Austria.  But  Schaff- 
hausen,  Rheinfelden  and  Neuchatel  fell  into  the  power  of 
Austria,  as  mortgaged  property.  This  greatly  grieved 
those  cities.  Lucerne  learnt  by  sad  experience  the  heavy 
pressure  of  a  prince's  yoke.  Dependent  upon  Austria,  the 
burghers  of  Lucerne,  to  their  great  detriment,  had  been 
compelled  to  fight  against  the  Waldstatten  and  in  all  foreign 
wars,  for  many  long  years.  Besides  this,  the  dukes,  making 
use  of  their  princely  power,  had  increased  the  taxes.  At 
last,  the  citizens  could  bear  no  more.  Thereupon,  they 
concluded  a  truce  of  twenty  years  with  the  Waldstatten ; 
but,  seeing  that  the  nobles  and  principal  families,  devoted 
to  the  service  of  the  dukes,  meditated  projects  injurious  to 
the  city,  on  this  account,  they  united  in  a  perpetual  bond 
with  the  Confederates,  that  they  would  stand  by  them, 
each  for  all,  all  for  each,  but  without  detriment  to  ancient 
rights. 

Thereat  the  nobility  dwelling  in  Aargau  declared  war 
against  the  city  in  the  name  of  Austria.  The  burghers 
valiantly  defended  their  good  right.  The  "Waldstatten 
fought  with  them  against  the  nobles.  But  the  principal 
families  in  Lucerne  itself  sided  with  the  foreign  nobles. 
For  caste  does  not  forsake  its  caste.  The  nobles  of  Lucerne 
conspired  to  make  a  nocturnal  massacre,  and  to  give  up  the 
city  to  the  duke,  after  the  friends  of  the  Waldstatten  had 
been  murdered  in  their  beds.  They  were  already  assem- 
bled in  arms,  in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  in  a  cellar  near 
the  lake,  under  the  tailors'  hall,  when  a  boy  chanced  to 
overhear  their  projects.  They  seized  and  would  have 
killed  him.  However,  his  life  was  spared,  and  he  was 


46  LUCERNE  SAVED.  [1885- 

forced  to  take  an  oath  to  tell  to  no  man  what  he  had  heard. 
But  he  went  into  the  hall  of  the  butchers,  where  some 
burghers  were  still  drinking  and  playing,  and  there,  in  a 
loud  voice,  related  to  the  dumb  stove  that  which  he  had 
sworn  to  tell  to  no  man.  All  the  burghers  listened  won- 
dering, hastened  away  and  roused  the  city.  They  made 
the  conspirators  prisoners,  called  in  auxiliaries  from  Unter- 
walden,  and  took  the  government  of  the  city  forever  from 
those  principal  families  which  had  until  then  been  invested 
with  it.  The  chief  persons  were  exiled.  Three  hundred 
burghers  thenceforth  formed  the  council;  but  the  city- 
property,  the  taxes,  war  and  alliances  were  controlled  by 
the  commune.  Thus  the  prudence  and  patriotism  of  a 
child  saved  the  liberties  of  Lucerne. 

Afterwards,  the  dukes,  burdened  or  exhausted  with 
other  wars,  willingly  made  peace  with  Lucerne,  as  soon  as 
nine  arbitrators  of  Bale,  Berne  and  Zurich  had  declared : 
that  the  perpetual  bond  of  the  four  Waldstatten  was 
blameless,  and  in  no  wise  injurious  to  the  rights  of  Habs- 
burg- Austria. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

BERNE    VANQUISHES    THE    POWER    OF   THE    NOBILITY    NEAR    LAUPEN ; 
AND    KNIGHT    BRUN    CHANGES    THE    CONSTITUTION    OF    ZURICH. 

[A.  D.  1385  to  1340.] 

AT  this  period  the  city  of  Berne  also  was  compelled  to 
engage  in  a  war  for  life  or  death  against  the  nobles  of 
Uechtland  and  their  allies.  The  counts  and  signiors  of 
the  neighborhood  were  displeased  to  see  Berne  nourishing 
by  her  arms,  her  industry  and  her  agriculture,  powerful 
by  the  public  spirit  of  her  citizens,  strengthened  by  the 
purchase  of  Hash  and  Laupen,  and  respected  more  and 
more  throughout  the  country.  And  when  the  city  refused 
to  receive  the  money  struck  by  count  Eberhard  of  Kyburg 
with  imperial  sanction,  and  to  recognize  the  emperor  Louis 
of  Bavaria,  because  the  pope  had  excommunicated  him, 


-1340.]  JOHN  OP  BUBENBERG.  47 

the  nobles  joyfully  seized  this  pretext  to  punish  the  recu- 
sants. Thereupon  count  Rudolf  of  the  French  house  of 
Neuchatel,  who  had  given  city  rights  and  walls  to  his  vil- 
lages Erlach  and  Nidau,  convoked  all  the  enemies  of  Berne 
at  his  tower  in  Nidau.  And  they  determined  that  the 
city  must  be  destroyed  from  the  earth.  They  collected 
many  troops  in  Aargau,  Savoy,  Upper  Burgundy,  Uecht- 
land  and  Alsace.  There  came  700  lords  with  coronetted 
helms,  1200  harnessed  knights,  with  more  than  15,000  men 
on  foot  and  3000  on  horseback. 

The  Bernese  were  not  terrified  at  the  tidings  of  these 
great  preparations,  neither  did  they  insult  their  enemies 
by  too  confident  a  security ;  they  resolved  to  satisfy  all 
just  claims,  but  to  repel  force  by  force.  When  all  peace- 
ful negotiations  proved  fruitless,  they  prepared  their  arms. 

With  uplifted  hand,  the  ancient  avoyer,  John  of  Buben- 
berg,  swore  to  sacrifice  property  and  life  in  defence  of  the 
city  of  Laupen,  under  the  walls  of  which  the  enemy's 
forces  were  assembled.  And  he  went  to  reinforce  the  gar- 
rison with  600  trusty  men.  While  the  Bernese  were  de- 
liberating in  their  council-hall  upon  the  choice  of  a  general 
to  whom  the  command  of  their  soldiers  should  be  confided 
in  this  war,  there  rode  into  the  city  knight  Rudolf  of  Er- 
lach, son  of  that  Ulrich  of  Erlach  who  had  defeated  the 
nobility  on  the  Donnerbuhl,  forty -one  years  before.  They 
at  once  chose  him  for  their  general,  for  he  was  an  expe- 
rienced soldier,  and  had  helped  to  gain  six  great  battles  in 
foreign  lands.  At  the  call  of  Berne,  900  valiant  men, 
from  Uri,  Schwyz  and  Unterwalden,  crossed  the  Brunig 
to  her  assistance ;  600  came  also  from  Hasli  and  Sieben- 
thal  (Simmenthal).  Solothurn,  also,  sent  80  cuirassed 
horsemen,  gratefully  remembering  the  day  on  which  Berne 
had  succored  her,  when  besieged  by  duke  Leopold  of  Aus- 
tria with  a  numerous  army.  (But,  on  that  occasion, 
Leopold  was  vanquished  less  by  arms  than  by  the  furious 
inundation  of  the  Aar  and  the  magnanimity  of  the  Solo- 
thurners.  The  swollen  waters  of  the  Aar  had  carried 
away  the  duke's  bridge  of  boats,  and  the  generous  burgh- 
ers of  the  city  saved  from  death  their  enemies  perishing 
in  the  flood.) 


48  RUDOLF  OP  ERLACH.  [1836- 

With  these  auxiliaries,  and  with  4000  citizens  and  in- 
habitants of  Berne,  Rudolf  of  Erlach  took"  post  in  front  of 
the  enemy  not  far  from  Laupen,  upon  a  height  whence  he 
could  overlook  the  army  of  the  nobles.  The  battle  began 
immediately.  The  enemy's  squadrons  ascended  the  height 
Erlach  gave  the  signal.  The  slingers  commenced.  The 
iron  war-wagons  thundered  down  the  hill,  and  broke  the 
ranks  of  the  enemy's  array.  Then  followed  the  banners, 
the  halberds  and  the  maces.  The  hindmost  of  the  Ber- 
nese alone  quailed  in  terror  at  the  sight.  Then  cried  the 
quick-witted  hero  Erlach  :  "  Good  !  The  chaff  is  sepa- 
rated from  the  wheat !  Cowards  will  not  share  the  vic- 
tory of  the  brave !" 

And  the  victory  was  theirs.     Count  Eudolf  of  Nidau 

Jay  under  the  foremost  of  the  slain ;  about  him  1500  of  his 
party.  This  was  in  the  year  1339.  Nevertheless,  the 
war  lasted  four  years,  with  skirmishes  here  and  there. 
Many  places  were  plundered  and  burnt.  Freiburg  in 
Uechtland  suffered  greatly,  for  she  was  compelled  to  side 
with  the  nobles  against  Berne.  At  last,  peace  came  ;  es- 
pecially glorious  for  Berne,  though  she  acquired  no  foot 
of  land  as  compensation  or  by  conquest ;  but  the  city 
which  was  threatened  with  destruction  from  the  face  of  the 
earth,  had  become  so  victorious  that  she  threatened  the 
destruction  of  all  her  enemies.  Forces  ten  times  superior 
in  numbers  had  been  vanquished  by  her  citizens,  all  ani- 
mated by  one  mind,  by  one  heart,  by  love  for  their  coun- 
try, by  no  thought  of  self.  Thus  men  work  miracles. 

After  peace  was  concluded,  the  Bernese  hung  up  their 
arms,  and  resumed  their  occupations.  The  knightly  hero, 
Rudolf  of  Erlach,  quietly  cultivated  his  paternal  field, 
asked  for  no  pay,  honors  or  title,  and  lived  happily  to  an 
advanced  old  age.  But  one  day,  Jobst  of  Rudenz,  from 
Unterwaldeny  his  son-in-law,  entered  his  chamber,  and  they 

'  disputed  with  each  other  on  the  subject  of  dowry.  Jobst 
saw  the  sword  of  the  victor  at  Laupen  hanging  against  the 
wall.  In  sudden  anger  he  seized  it  and  plunged  it  into 
the  heart  of  the  old  hero.  Then  he  fled,  pursued  by  his 
father-in-law's  hounds,  and  was  never  seen  more. 

The  avoyer,  John  of  Bubenberg,  who  had  rendered 


-1840.]  THE   KONSTAFFLERS.  40 

great  services  to  his  city  in  the  most  difficult  times,  expe- 
rienced a  still  sadder  fate.  His  haughty  manners  made 
him  odious  to  the  citizens.  He  was  therefore  accused  of 
governing  with  immoderate  pride,  not  like  a  citizen,  but 
like  a  prince,  and  of  undertaking  no  business  without  a 
present.  He  was  banished  from  the  city  with  all  his 
friends,  for  one  hundred  years  and  a  day.  Then,  after 
fourteen  years,  when  he  was  old  and  weak,  the  people 
took  pity  on  him  and  received  him  back.  In  a  free  com- 
monwealth, the  virtue  of  a  citizen  may  often  obliterate 
the  remembrance  of  past  faults,  but  former  services  can 
never  excuse  subsequent  misdeeds. 

About  the  same  time,  still  more  deplorable  was  the  lot 
of  the  council-lords  of  Zurich,  where  four  nobles  of  the 
city  and  eight  of  the  most  eminent  burghers  always  held 
the  government  for  four  months,  and  then  chose  their  suc- 
cessors. Thus  the  power  was  in  the  hands  of  a  few  knight- 
ly and  military  families,  who  were  called  Konstafflers. 
The  other  citizens,  and  the  mechanics  distinguished  by 
their  riches,  acquirements  and  courage,  were  displeased  at 
being  subject  to  these  families,  against  whose  government, 
moreover,  many  complaints  were  made.  The  lords,  it  was 
said,  cared  only  for  their  own  and  families'  interests,  gave 
no  account  of  the  city  moneys,  treated  the  simple  citizens 
quite  haughtily,  and  knew  no  law  but  their  own  caprice. 
These  complaints  continued  until  one  of  the  council  itself 
joined  the  dissatisfied  people,  and  made  common  cause  with 
them.  This  was  knight  Rudolf  Brun,  a  man  of  talent,  but 
ambitious.  Instigated  by  him,  the  burghers  at  last  sum- 
moned the  council  to  give  an  account  of  the  city  moneys. 
Rudolf  Brun,  his  friend  Rudiger  Manesse  and  some  others 
of  the  council  supported  the  demand  as  just.  The  rest  of 
the  councillors  thought  that  this  was  only  a  momentary 
effervescence  of  the  burghers,  which  would  soon  die  away, 
and  they  made  use  of  small  manoeuvres  to  procrastinate 
the  matter.  They  understood  the  council-chamber,  but 
not  the  temper  of  the  people. 

After  six  weeks,  Brun  caused  a  report  to  be  spread,  that 
the  lords  of  the  council  were  only  trifling  with  the  com- 
mons. Then  the  people  flocked  to  the  lower  bridge,  near 
3 


60  NARROW  POLICY.  [1840- 

the  council-hall,  where  the  council  was  in  session.  As  the 
crowd  and  clamor  increased,  those  in  the  house  became 
terrified.  Some  declared  in  favor  of  the  citizens ;  the 
others,  anxious  for  their  personal  safety,  made  their  escape 
and  hastily  left  the  city.  Full  powers  were  given  to  knight 
Brun,  and  it  was  decided  that  the  lords  should  suffer  in 
honor,  person  and  property.  They  were  banished  with 
their  partisans. 

Then  knight  Brun,  with  the  advice  of  his  friends,  drew 
up  a  new  constitution,  divided  all  the  artisans  into  thirteen 
corporations,  the  chiefs  of  which  had  seats  in  the  council ; 
the  Konstaffiers  he  classed  as  a  single  body,  that  they 
might  have  no  great  influence  in  the  other  corporations. 
The  council,  composed  half  of  citizens,  half  of  nobles  and 
patricians,  was  to  be  renewed  every  six  months.  Brun 
caused  himself  to  be  appointed  burgomaster  for  life,  and 
retained  great  power.  The  people  gladly  swore  to  this 
constitution  in  1336.  As  the  artisans  had  a  voice  in  the 
council,  they  were  enabled  to  prohibit  the  competition  of 
foreign  mechanics,  the  exportation  of  raw  materials,  the 
importation  of  manufactured  articles,  as  if  the  whole  city 
existed  for  the  benefit  of  their  trades,  not  their  trades  for 
the  benefit  of  the  city. 

But  the  banished  lords  of  the  council,  and  their  friends 
without,  meditated  a  bloody  vengeance  against  Zurich. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

ORIGIN    OF   THE    PERPETUAL    BOND    OF   THE  EIGHT  ANCIENT  CANTONS 
OF   THE    CONFEDERACY. 

[A.  D.  1341  to  I860.] 

THE  exiles  had  retired  to  Rapperswyl  and  into  the  cas- 
tles and  towers  of  their  friends;  thence  they  made  small 
war  against  the  Zurichers,  and  harassed  them  by  every 
means  in  their  power.  But  the  Zurichers  were  courageous 
men,  and  Brun  brave  as  well  as  talented.  When  the  ex- 


-1341.]  RAPPEBSWYL   DESTROYED.  61 

lies  found  that  they  did  not  accomplish  any  thing,  they 
conspired  to  make  a  nocturnal  massacre  in  Zurich.  Sev- 
eral counts  and  nobles  entered  the  city,  either  openly 
under  various  pretexts,  or  secretly.  It  was  agreed  that 
when  they  had  got  possession  of  the  city  in  the  horrors  of 
a  dark  night,  the  gates  were  to  be  opened,  and  numerous 
troops  from  Rapperswyl  admitted.  The  night  came.  The 
conspirators  assembled  in  a  friend's  house.  There  a  baker's 
apprentice,  half  asleep  behind  the  stove,  overheard  their 
plot.  He  immediately  revealed  it  to  his  master ;  his  mas- 
ter to  knight  Brun.  The  latter,  in  armor,  hastened,  bare- 
footed, to  the  council-hall.  The  alarm  bell  was  rung.  All 
the  citizens  rushed  at  once  to  arms.  The  conspirators  tried 
to  escape,  but  the  women  threw  stones,  earthen  pots  and 
tiles  upon  them  from  the  windows,  and  Brun,  at  the  head 
of  the  citizens,  met  them  in  the  market  place.  A  long 
and  bloody  conflict  ensued.  The  conspirators  were  van- 
quished. Those  who  could  escape  fled.  Many  were  slain, 
others  taken  prisoners. 

Brun  thought  only  of  vengeance.  The  bodies  of  the 
dead  lay  three  whole  days  unburied  on  the  market-place, 
until  they  were  so  disfigured  by  the  horses  and  carts  that 
passed  over  them,  that  they  could  no  longer  be  recognized. 
Thirty-seven  citizens,  engaged  in  the  conspiracy,  among 
them  ancient  magistrates  of  the  city,  were  beheaded  or 
broken  on  the  wheel  in  the  streets  in  front  of  their  houses. 
Then  Brun  led  his  troops  against  Rapperswyl.  The  for- 
tress was  taken  and  demolished,  the  inhabitants  driven  into 
the  open  fields,  the  walls  thrown  down,  every  thing,  even 
to  the  last  hut,  burnt.  Thus  Brun's  vengeance  struck 
down  the  innocent  with  the  guilty.  This  was  in  1350. 

In  the  following  year,  when  duke  Albert  of  Austria 
threatened  a  severe  reprisal,  the  burgomaster  applied  to  the 
Confederates  in  the  Waldstatten  for  assistance,  and  to  be 
allowed  to  join  in  their  perpetual  bond.  Uri,  Schwyz, 
Unterwalden  and  Lucerne,  who  had  long  esteemed  Zurich 
as  their  rampart  and  their  market,  willingly  assented,  on 
the  1st  of  May,  1351,  and  swore  with  her  to  a  perpetual 
bond,  to  assist  each  other  with  life  and  property  against 
all  enemies,  and  in  case  of  difference  among  themselves,  to 


62  RtJDIGER   MAXESSE.  [1340- 

settle  the  dispute  in  a  friendly  manner  by  arbitrators.  All 
the  rights  of  the  king  and  of  the  holy  Eoman  empire,  and 
all  ancient  treaties  were  maintained,  but  in  new  treaties 
with  foreigners  the  Confederacy  was  to  be  preferred.* 

Now,  duke  Albert,  giving  vent  to  his  anger  against 
Zurich,  came  and  demanded  satisfaction  for  the  destruction 
of  Rapperswyl,  which  had  belonged  to  his  relatives,  and 
for  the  injuries  suffered  by  the  servants  and  subjects  of 
Austria.  He  advanced  at  the  head  of  16,000  men,  and  re- 
quired Glarus  also  to  send  auxiliaries.  But  the  people  of 
Glarus  refused  and  said,  "  It  is  indeed  our  duty,  under  the 
protection  of  the  empire,  to  take  arms  for  the  defence  of 
the  abbey  of  Seckingen,  to  which  our  country  belongs,  but 
we  have  nothing  to  do  with  any  other  wars  of  Austria." 
This  answer  irritated  the  duke.  He  resolved  to  send 
troops  into  Glarus,  because  he  was  patron  and  protector 
of  the  abbey  of  Seckingen,  and  because,  from  Glarus,  be 
thought  to  intimidate  the  people  of  Uri  and  Schwyz,  so 
that  they  might  not  assist  those  of  Zurich.  But  the  Con- 
federates suddenly  issued  from  the  Waldstatten  in  the 
depth  of  winter,  and  occupied  Glarus  for  their  own  secu- 
rity. The  people  of  Glarus  swore  to  hold  with  the  Swiss, 
sent  two  hundred  men  of  their  valley  to  reinforce  the  city 
of  Zurich,  beat  Walter  of  Stadion  when  he  entered  their 
country  with  an  Austrian  force  from  Rapperswyl,  and  de- 
stroyed the  castle  of  Nafels. 

This  valor  pleased  the  Confederates,  and  they  received 
Glarus  into  their  perpetual  bond,  reserving  the  just  sover- 
eignty and  revenues  of  the  duke  and  of  the  princess-abbess 
of  Seckingen,  on  condition  that  these  acknowledged  the 
ancient  franchises  Of  Glarus.  This  took  place  in  1352, 
while  in  the  year  before  (26th  December,  1351)  Rudiger 
Manesse,  of  Zurich,  with  less  than  1500  men,  had  van- 
quished more  than  4000  Austrians  near  Tatwyl,  and  (16th 
December,  1351)  forty-two  Schwyzers  kept  at  bay  more 
than  a  thousand  Austrians  near  Kussnacht,  on  the  lake  of 

*  Zurich  received  the  title  of  Vorort,  or  chief  canton  of  the  Confede- 
racy, and  was  the  seat  of  the  federal  authority,  if  any  existed  that  could 
be  so  called.  She  enjoyed  this  distinction  on  account  of  her  superior 
wealth  and  importance,  but  had  no  political  supremacy. 


-I860.]  THE  DUKE'S  INDIFFERENCE.  63 

the  Waldstatten,  and  avenged  the  burning  of  Kussnacht 
by  the  destruction  of  Habsburg  on  the  Rothenflue,  near 
the  same  Jake. 

The  duke  of  Austria  had  as  yet  achieved  no  single  ex- 
ploit, while  the  renown  of  the  Confederates  and  oT  their 
rapid  victories  flew  afresh  from  valley  to  valley,  from  land 
to  land.  And  they  were  greatly  praised,  because  they  did 
not  war  like  princes,  but  as  freemen,  and  did  not  plunder 
the  conquered  countries,  or  make  the  vanquished  inhabit- 
ants tributary  serfs  and  subjects,  but  received  them  as 
faithful  and  free  confederates. 

Therefore,  the  country-people  on  the  lake  of  Zug,  and 
in  the  rich  fields  and  mountains  of  the  neighborhood,  pre- 
ferred them  to  all  others,  and  gave  them  advice,  assistance, 
and  important  information  on  many  occasions.  The  city 
of  Zug,  on  the  contrary,  remained  faithful  to  her  lords  of 
Austria,  closed  her  gates,  and  garrisoned  her  strong  walls 
against  the  Confederates.  Many  a  noble  family  here  en- 
joyed the  right  of  citizenship.  The.  ancient  counts  of 
Lenzburg  are  said  to  have  first  fortified  the  village  on  the 
lake. 

But  when  the  Confederates,  to  the  number  of  about  3000 
men,  appeared  before  the  walls  and  gates  of  Zug,  and  were 
joined  by  all  the  people  of  the  neighboring  country,  the 
burghers  of  the  city  were  frightened,  as  they  had  only  a 
weak  garrison  of  Austrians.  They  therefore  sent  in  haste 
to  duke  Albert,  to  ask  help  from  him  in  their  need. 

The  messenger  found  the  duke  near  Koenigsfelden ;  but 
this  prince  hardly  paid  attention  to  his  complaints,  talking 
with  his  falconer  about  the  pleasures  of  the  chase,  while  the 
messenger  wept.  To  bring  down  a  bird  from  the  high 
clouds  seemed  of  more  consequence  to  this  lord  than  to 
save  a  city.  Full  of  indignation  at  such  indifference,  the 
burghers  of  Zug  opened  the  gates  of  their  city  to  the  Con- 
federates, and  joined  in  their  perpetual  bond,  reserving  all 
the  rights  and  revenues  of  the  house  of  Austria. 

The  duke  had  said  to  the  messenger  from  Zug:  "I  will 
soon  recover  every  thing."  He  trusted  in  his  powerful 
allies.  With  him  came  all  the  nobility  of  Aargau,  Thur- 
gau  and  Uechtland,  troops  from  the  allied  cities  of  Schaff- 


64  THE  ELECTOR  OF   BRANDENBURG.  [1340- 

hausen,  Bale,  Strassburg  and  even  Berne.  The  elector  of 
Brandenburg  also  brought  soldiers  from  Germany.  He 
immediately  besieged  the  city  of  Zurich  with  more  than 
34,000  men.  It  was  valiantly  defended  by  the  Confederates. 

The  elector  of  Brandenburg  soon  perceived  that  no 
glory  was  to  be  won  against  people  so  steadfast,  so  united, 
so  intrepid  as  the  Swiss,  and,  moreover,  supplies  and  pro- 
visions began  to  fail,  and  famine  to  threaten,  in  the  duke's 
crowded  encampment.  He  therefore  offered  his  friendly 
mediation  to  the  duke,  and  sent  two  confidential  messen- 
gers to  the  Swiss.  The  latter  had  hardly  given  an  an- 
swer, when,  on  the  next  morning,  they  saw  the  enemy 
depart  from  before  their  walls;  the  Bernese  alone  remained, 
more  attached  to  the  Confederates  than  to  the  duke. 

At  Lucerne,  the  elector  negotiated  the  peace,  in  which, 
as  always,  all  ancient  rights  and  treaties  were  maintained. 
But  the  Confederates  here  received  Berne  also  into  their 
perpetual  bond.  This  was  in  1353. 

After  this  peace  the  duke  of  Austria  tried  to  persuade 
the  people  of  Zug  to  withdraw  from  the  Swiss  bond.  They 
answered :  "  The  Swiss  bond  is  recognized  in  the  treaty  of 
peace ;  we  owe  obedience  to  the  duke,  only  in  those  things 
which  concern  his  rights."  The  duke  complained  to  the 
emperor,  and  the  emperor  condemned  the  perpetual  bond 
of  the  Confederates,  saying:  "  Members  of  the  empire  can 
form  no  compact  among  themselves  without  consent  of  the 
chief  of  the  empire."  And  he  himself  came  into  the 
country  and  before  Zurich,  with  a  large  force.  But  when 
he  saw  the  strength,  the  union  and  the  loyalty  of  the  Con- 
federates, and  that  the  duke  had  in  view  only  the  aggran- 
disement of  Austria,  he  changed  his  purpose,  and  left  the 
Swiss  as  they  were ;  and  peace  was  made  and  the  perpet- 
ual bond  remained  unbroken. 

Two  years  after  this  peace  (in  1360)  burgomaster  Rudolf 
Brun  died,  hated  for  his  ambition  and  despotism.  He  was 
a  man  who  cared  only  for  himself.  A  year  before  his 
death,  he  had  secretly  sworn  to  the  dukes  of  Austria,  to 
serve  them  and  their  officers,  but  not  against  the  Confede- 
rates. And  for  this  they  were  to  pay  him  one  thousand 
guilders,  and  an  annuity  of  one  hundred  guilders. 


I860.]  CONFEDERATE  STRENGTH.  56 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

HOW  THE    SWISS    INCREASE,    AND     THE    OUGLERS   AND     THE    COUNTS 
OF    KYBURO   ARE    RUINED. 

[A.  D.  1360  to  1886.] 

WHAT  made  the  Confederates  strong  and  steadfast? 
That  they  valued  liberty  more  than  ease  and  gold,  and 
more  than  fleeting  life ;  that  they  readily  took  arms  to  de- 
fend their  rights,  never  to  destroy  the  rights  of  others ;  that 
they  held  together  as  brothers  in  danger  and  in  death,  and 
no  selfishness  divided  them.  This  made  the  Confederates 
strong  and  steadfast.  Their  perpetual  bond  was  engraved 
on  all  their  hearts  more  plainly  than  it  was  written  on  the 
parchment. 

Having  now  made  peace  with  Austria,  they  put  their 
internal  affairs  in  order,  labored  diligently  at  their  trades, 
economised  in  their  households,  and  amassed  gold,  not 
that  they  might  live  luxuriously  and  splendidly,  but  that 
they  might  purchase  for  their  commonwealths  the  rights 
and  revenues  which  the  impoverished  nobility  were  always 
ready  to  sell.  Thus  they  increased  their  strength  and  free- 
dom by  just  means.  And  justice  is  the  foundation  of  all 
noble  freedom. 

The  shepherd-commune  of  Gersau  on  the  lake  of  Lu- 
cerne, reserving  their  prerogatives,  united  with  the  four 
Waldstatten  in  the  perpetual  bond.  Hergiswyl  and  Alp- 
nach  purchased  themselves  free  from  the  sovereignty  of 
their  signiors,  and  joined  Unterwalden.  Lucerne  bought 
from  the  barons  of  Ramstein  their  rights  over  Weggis  on 
the  lake ;  Zurich,  many  imperial  fiefs,  by  contributions 
from  her  citizens.  Berne,  like  Zurich,  obtained  franchises 
and  privileges  from  the  favor  of  the  emperor,  and,  with 
ready  money,  the  signiory  of  Aarburg  and  several  villages. 
Other  cities  also,  not  of  the  Confederacy,  increased  their 
ancient  territory  under  their  ecclesiastical  or  secular  signi- 
ors ;  such  were  Schaffhausen,  Bale,  Lausanne,  St.  Gallen, 
Bienne  and  Solothurn.  But  the  power  of  the  bishops  and 


56  INGELRAM   OF  COUCY.  [1360- 

counts  was  weakened  by  continual  discord,  their  treasuries 
exhausted  by  endless  wars.  This,  more  than  force  or  vio- 
lence, helped  all  the  people  to  gain  privileges  and  strength. 
The  Appenzellers,  also,  obeyed  their  own  laws  rather  than 
the  commands  of  the  abbot  of  St.  Grallen.  So  the  valleys 
of  the  country  above  the  lake  of  Thun  lived  in  hereditary 
freedom  under  the  mild  sovereignty  of  their  counts,  whose 
power  was  no  longer  unlimited.  Saanenland  bought  her- 
self entirely  free  from  the  counts  of  Gruyeres.  Oberhasli 
and  Brienz  wished  to  free  themselves  by  force  from  the 
dominion  of  the  bailiff  at  Kinkenberg.  But  the  Confede- 
rates would  not  help  them.  They  said:  "No  freedom 
without  justice." 

On  the  other  hand,  when  a  member  or  ally  of  the  Con- 
federacy was  threatened  with  danger  or  war,  the  Confede- 
rates flew  promptly  to  her  assistance,  as  when  Arnold  of 
Cervola,  with  undisciplined  hordes  from  England,  ravaged 
France  and  threatened  Bale.  But  when  Ingelram  of  Coucy, 
count  of  Soissons,  made  war  against  Austria,  and  the  dukes, 
fearing  for  their  possessions  in  Aargau,  which  had  been 
assigned  to  Ingelram  as  his  wife's  dowry,  called  upon  the 
Waldstatten  and  Lucerne  for  assistance,  the  people  cher- 
ished in  their  breasts  too  strong  an  anger  against  Austria. 
But  Zurich,  on  the  contrary,  and  Berne,  who  feared  for 
their  own  frontiers  in  consequence  of  the  proximity  of  Aar- 
gau, promptly  seized  their  arms.  Ingelram  did  in  fact  en- 
ter Aargau  with  several  thousand  men.  This  frightened 
the  country  not  a  little,  even  Lucerne  and  Unterwalden. 
The  most  courageous  of  the  Austrian  subjects  prepared  for 
resistance  without  delay ;  the  most  ardent  were  the  men 
of  Entlibuch  (a  populous  valley  in  the  present  canton  of 
Lucerne).  They  assembled  in  arms;  the  young  men  of 
Lucerne  and  Unterwalden,,  desirous  of  conflict,  joined 
them.  Three  thousand  English  were  posted  at  Buttisholz ; 
with  them  were  many  noble  lords  and  knights.  The  Ent- 
libuchers  saw  them.  They  and  their  companions,  only  600 
strong,  at  once  attacked  the  enemy  and  routed  them  after  a 
very  bloody  fight.  The  Entlibuchers  rode  home  in  tri- 
umph on  the  horses  they  had  taken,  in  the  armor  of  the 
knights  they  had  vanquished.  This  sight  saddened  the 


-1885.]  JOHN   ROTT.  67 

old  noble  lords  in  the  country,  and  one  of  them,  Peter  of 
Dorrenberg,  said  with  a  sigh :  "  O  noble  lord  of  noble 
blood,  must  a  peasant  wear  thine  armor?"  But  the  Ent- 
libucher  replied:  "Why,  my  gentleman,  we  have  taken 
arms,  and  mingled  blood  of  noble  and  blood  of  horse  to- 
gether." The  people  of  Berne,  Laupen  and  Aarberg  also 
achieved  heroic  deeds  near  Ins  and  the  convent  of  Frau- 
brunnen,  against  the  hordes  of  Gruglers,  as  Ingelram  of 
Coucy's  men  were  called,  in  consequence  of  their  pointed 
helmets.  Here  his  strength  was  broken.  Therefore  this 
lord  sadly  returned  home  into  Alsace,  over  the  Hauen- 
stein. 

Six  years  after  this  (1382),  the  free  imperial-city  of  Solo- 
thurn  was  in  great*  danger.  Not  far  from  the  city  lived 
count  Rudolf  of  Kyburg,  in  the  mountain -castle  of  Bipp, 
which  he  had  received  on  pledge  from  the  counts  of 
Thierstein.  He  was  grieved  that  so  much  property  had 
been  alienated  from  his  very  ancient  and  formerly  wealthy 
family,  in  consequence  of  the  poor  economy  of  his  father. 
Thun,  the  city  of  his  ancestors,  had  fallen  to  Berne  on 
mortgage  ;  so  had  Aarberg.  He  had  some  claim  on  Solo- 
thurn,  in  virtue  of  certain  rights.  He  thought  he  could 
recover  the  whole  by  a  bold  stroke.  He  secretly  enlisted 
auxiliaries  on  the  right  and  left.  He  intended  to  surprise 
and  take  Solothurn  in  the  darkness  of  the  night.  The 
prior  of  the  church  of  St.  Ursus,  in  that  city,  was  his 
uncle.  A  canon  of  the  cathedral,  John  Amstein,  who 
lived  on  the  city-wall,  was  to  admit  the  soldiers  through 
his  house,  and  to  muffle  the  alarm-bell  with  cloths.  Every 
thing  was  ready.  The  night  came,  and  the  enemy  were 
already  advancing  towards  the  city  in  the  darkness. 

But  John  Rott,  a  peasant  of  Rumisberg,  ran  ahead  of 
them  in  the  midnight  hour,  and  informed  the  watchmen  at 
the  east  gate  of  the  count's  murderous  projects.  They 
tried  to  ring  the  alarm-bell,  but  in  vain.  Cries  of  terror 
resounded  through  the  streets.  All  seized  their  arms  ;  all 
hastened  to  the  walls.  When  Rudolf  of  Kyburg  saw  this 
unexpected  vigilance,  he  retired  with  shame.  John  Arn- 
stein,  the  traitorous  canon,  was  punished  by  quartering ;  to 
recompense  John  Rott,  on  the  contrary,  it  was  decreed,  that 
3* 


58  REFORMS  IN  [1360- 

Solothurn  should,  every  year  thenceforward,  give  to  the 
eldest  of  his  descendants,  a  new  coat  in  the  colors  of  the 
city,  red  and  white. 

From  this  day,  the  affairs  of  lord  Eudolf  of  Kyburg 
went  from  bad  to  worse ;  Solothurn  and  Berne,  to  avenge 
themselves,  ravaged  his  property  and  that  of  his  friends. 
The  want  of  money  deprived  him  of  all  assistance.  He 
took  this  much  to  heart  and  died.  His  brothers,  however, 
fought  valiantly  for  their  heritage.  Many  noble  lords  em- 
braced their  cause.  Then  Berne  called  on  the  Confeder- 
ates. Great  misfortunes  befell  Kyburg,  and  the  counts 
made  a  disadvantageous  peace;  abandoned  in  perpetuity 
Thun  and  their  office  of  bailiff  over  woody  Grussisberg, 
and  sold  to  the  Bernese  Burgdorf,  already  besieged  by 
their  troops.  Berne  paid  the  Confederates  for  their  assist- 
ance, and  Solothurn  for  the  expenses  of  the  war,  in 
money. 

Thus  the  bloody  enterprise  of  the  Kyburgs  against 
Solothurn  terminated  in  their  own  ruin,  and  Berne  derived 
the  greatest  advantages  from  her  valor  and  prudence ;  and 
Berne  did  this  at  a  time  when  within  her  own  walls  dwelt 
an  enemy  much  more  dangerous  to  liberty  than  all  the 
power  of  Kyburg. 

Either  by  the  abuse  or  mal-interpretation  of  the  laws,  or 
by  the  indifference  of  the  citizens,  a  small  number  of  fami- 
lies in  Berne  had  by  degrees  acquired  supremacy  in  the 
council,  and  assumed  the  whole  government  and  the  man- 
agement of  public  affairs.  These  families  treated  the  com- 
mon citizens  haughtily,  disregarded  the  laws,  and  divided 
the  best  offices  among  their  own  members.  Nevertheless, 
the  spirit  of  freedom  was  still  rife  among  the  citizens  in 
their  corporations  and  trades.  When  they  met  on  Shrove 
Tuesday,  1384,  to  elect  the  magistrates  of  the  city  and  the 
common  council,  according  to  ancient  usage,  they  deposed 
all  the  obnoxious  councillors,  with  one  exception,  and  took 
a  personal  oath,  for  themselves  and  their  posterity,  that,  in 
future,  magistrates  and  citizens  should  live  together  like 
brothers ;  that  the  important  officers  should  be  changed 
annually,  as  well  as  the  majority  of  the  council ;  that  the 
bannerets  and  their  assessors  should  yearly  select  two  hun.- 


-1886.]  BERNE-CITY.  69 

dred  honorable  men  from  among  the  artisans  of  the  city 
for  a  great  common  council,  in  which  no  two  brothers 
should  sit  at  the  same  time,  and  that  the  council  elect 
should  first  appear  before  the  general  assembly  to  be  con- 
firmed by  it,  and  should  then  swear,  in  its  presence,  to  ob- 
serve all  the  laws  and  ordinances  contained  in  the  records. 
Thus  did  they  and  swore  they,  at  Berne ;  but,  with  time, 
much  was  forgotten ;  the  commons  by  degrees  neglected 
the  annual  renewal,  and  did  not  even  remember  the  names 
of  those  who  belonged  to  the  Two  hundred. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE    BATTLE    FOR   FREEDOM    NEAR    8EMPACH. 
[A.  D.  1885  to  13ST.] 

I  WILL  now  tell  of  the  very  bloody  battles  for  freedom 
which  were  fought  against  Austria  and  the  knights  in  the 
fields  of  Sempach  and  Nafels. 

The  nobility,  as  always,  implacably  hated  the  freedom 
of  the  people.  They  oppressed  the  subject-peasants,  and 
treated  the  Confederates  with  haughtiness.  They  thought 
themselves  all-powerful,  because  they  were  upheld  by  the 
duke  of  Austria,  who  showed  his  hostility  to  the  Confed- 
erates by  establishing  new  tolls  in  his  hereditary  estates  to 
impede  their  commerce.  As,  one  day,  a  troop  of  bold 
Lucerners,  full  of  wrath,  went  to  the  castle  of  Rothen- 
burg,  where  a  new  toll  had  been  established,  and  razed  its 
walls  to  the  ground ;  and  as,  on  the  same  day,  the  much- 
harassed  Entlibuchers,  whose  taxes  their  lord,  Peter  of 
Thorberg,  had  increased,  requested  the  Luoerners  to  enter 
into  a  brotherly  league  with  them  for  the  defence  of  their 
rights,  and  Lucerne  acceded  to  their  request,  the  war  against 
the  signiors  began. 

Peter  of  Thorberg  ignominiously  executed  those  men  of 
Entlibuch  who  first  proposed  the  alliance  with  Lucerne, 
and  ravaged  the  country  to  the  city-gates.  And  duke 


(JO  LEOPOLD  OP  AUSTRIA.  [1886- 

Leopold  of  Austria  came  and  swore  to  take  vengeance  on 
the  insolent  Confederates,  for  all  the  damage  they  had 
already  done  to  him  and  his  house.  Then  arose  cries  of 
war  and  the  noise  of  a  general  arming.  The  Confederates 
hastily  assembled  a  Diet.  Berne  alone  held  back,  because 
her  truce  with  duke  Leopold  had  not  yet  expired.  In  the 
mean  while,  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  ecclesiastical  and 
secular  signiors  declared  war  against  the  Confederates  in 
the  space  of  a  few  days,  swearing  their  destruction  and 
total  ruin. 

The  latter,  unterrified,  at  once  seized  their  arms.  Many 
castles  were  destroyed  by  them  in  a  short  time.  Rumlang 
on  the  Glatt,  Morsburg,  Schenken  on  the  mountain  near 
Sursee,  Windegg  in  Gasterland.  The  enemy,  on  their 
side,  not  inactive,  and  assisted  by  the  treachery  of  the 
burghers  of  Mayenberg,  killed  many  of  the  men  from  Zug 
and  Lucerne  who  garrisoned  that  city ;  the  place  itself  was 
reduced  to  ashes.  Reichensee,  faithful  to  the  Confederates, 
paid  for  its  fidelity  by  the  burning  of  its  houses  and  the 
massacre  of  most  of  its  inhabitants ;  the  unconscious  infant 
at  its  mother's  breast  was  not  spared. 

Thereafter,  duke  Leopold,  with  a  formidable  army  and 
many  noble  knights  and  auxiliaries  from  his  domains, 
marched  from  Baden,  through  Aargau,  by  Sursee,  against 
Sempach,  to  chastise  the  citizens  with  a  rod  of  iron  for 
their  attachment  to  the  Confederates.  Then  he  intended 
to  attack  Lucerne.  But  when  he  came  to  Sempach  he 
found  the  banners  of  the  Confederates  already  assembled 
on  the  heights.  At  once,  without  waiting  for  his  infantry, 
he  caused  his  thousands  of  cuirassed  knights  to  dismount, 
because  he  feared  lest  the  horses  might  create  confusion  in 
a  hill-fight,  ordered  them  to  close  up,  man  to  man,  like  a 
wall  of  iron,  and  advance,  with  levelfed  lances,  on  the 
Confederates.  Thereat  the  nobility  shouted.  Brave  Hans 
of  Hasenburg,  however,  spake  warningly,  "Arrogance 
does  no  good!"  But  duke  Leopold  said,  "Here,  on  my 
own  land,  for  my  people,  I  will  conquer  or  die !" 

It  was  in  harvest-time.  The  sun  was  high  and  hot.  The 
Swiss  fell  on  their  knees  and  prayed.  Then  they  rose : 
four  hundred  of  Lucerne,  nine  hundred  from  the  Wald- 


1887.]  ARNOLD  OF  WINKELRIED.  61 

statten,  one  hundred  from  Glarus,  Zug,  Gersau,  Entlibuch 
and  Kothenburg.  All  rushed  furiously  against  the  iron 
multitude.  In  vain ;  it  was  unshakeable.  Man  fell  on  man. 
Sixty  Confederates  bled  upon  the  ground.  All  wavered. 

"  I  will  open  a  path  for  freedom !"  suddenly  cries  a  voice 
of  thunder;  "faithful  and  dear  Confederates,  take  care 
of  my  wife  and  child."  Thus  spake  Arnold  Struthahn  of 
Winkelried,  the  knightly  Unterwaldener,  and  immediately 
clasping  with  both  arms  as  many  of  the  enemy's  lances  as 
he  could,  he  buried  them  in  his  bosom,  and  fell.  And 
over  his  dead  body,  the  Confederates  rushed  furiously 
through  the  breach  thus  made  in  the  iron  wall,  crashing 
as  they  went.  Casque  and  cuirass  cracked  under  the 
blows  of  the  maces.  Many  hundreds  of  splendid  banners 
became  blood-red.  Thrice  the  chief  banner  of  Austria 
sank  from  dying  hands,  thrice  it  was  raised  again  over  the 
press,  bathed  in  blood.  Many  a  lord  and  count  lay  slain. 
The  duke  himself  died  despairing.  He  fell ;  a  Schwyzer 
slew  the  prince's  son.  Thereat  dismay  spread  through  the 
ranks  of  knights.  They  fled,  shouting  for  their  horses. 
But  the  servants,  in  affright,  had  already  ridden  away  with 
them.  With  difficulty,  in  their  heavy  iron  armor,  heated 
by  the  rays  of  the  sun,  fled  the  unfortunate  knights ;  close 
behind  them  nimbly  followed  the  vigorous  Confederates. 
Many  hundred  counts,  barons  and  knights  from  Suabia, 
Etschland  and  Aargau,  fell  with  thousands  of  their  foot- 
followers.  Schaff  hausen  lost  her  banner,  vainly  defended, 
to  the  last  drop  of  blood,  by  thirty -four  nobles  and  burgh- 
ers of  the  city.  The  banneret  of  Len/burg,  Werner  of 
Lo,  fell  under  seven,  the  avoyer  of  Aarau  under  fourteen, 
of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  Nicholas  Thuet,  avoyer  of  Zof- 
ingen,  under  twelve  of  his.  The  latter,  seeing  his  death 
near,  destroyed  his  city's  banner,  that  no  enemy  might 
boast  of  having  captured  it.  Even  in  death,  he  held  the 
staff  of  the  banner  fast  between  his  teeth.  The  citizens  of 
Mellingen  and  Bremgarten  fought  with  as  much  bravery 
as  the  Confederates,  but  with  less  good-fortune.  Such 
was  the  issue  of  the  battle  of  Sempach,  on  the  9th  of  July, 
1386;  such  the  ever  glorious  result  of  the  heroism  and 
martyrdom  of  Arnold  of  Winkelried. 


62  HATRED  AGAINST  AUSTRIA.  [1388- 

Now  Berne,  also,  joined  her  ancient  Confederates  and 
brothers-in-arms  against  Austria  and  her  partisans  in  the 
mountains.  She  destroyed  many  a  noble's  strong  tower  ; 
took  the  Obersibenthal  (a  valley  rich  in  pasturage  in  the 
south  part  of  the  present  canton  of  Berne)  under  her  pro- 
tection, and  vanquished  Freiburg  in  the  field  of  Bumplitz, 
The  banners  of  Zurich  and  Lucerne  floated  victorious  over 
the  domains  of  Habsburg,  in  valley  and  plain.  The  Aus- 
trian  city  of  Wesen  in  Gaster  was  obliged  to  yield  to  Gla- 
rus,  Zurich  and  the  Waldstatten,  who  pressed  around  its 
walls  with  fire  and  sword,  by  land  and  water. 

Austria,  reduced  to  extremity,  negotiated.  A  truce 
was  concluded  for  eighteen  months ;  a  truce  to  arms,  but 
not  to  hatred.  Such  was  the  animosity  against  Austria 
and  the  nobility,  both  mortal  enemies  of  the  liberty  of  the 
Confederates,  that  no  man  dared  to  wear,  upon  hat  01 
casque,  the  peacock's  feather  which  was  the  usual  symbol 
of  the  Austrian  dukes ;  no  peacock  was  allowed  in  all 
Switzerland ;  and,  one  day,  at  an  inn,  a  man  broke  his 
glass,  in  fury,  because  the  rays  of  the  sun,  refracted  through 
it,  reproduced  the  brilliant  colors  of  that  bird. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

THE  BATTLE  FOR  FREEDOM    NEAR   NAFELS,  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES. 
[A,  D.  13SS  to  1402.] 

BUT  the  nobility  and  Austria  still  had  faithful  partisans 
in  many  places. 

Although  Glarus  governed  with  great  mildness  the  lit- 
tle city  of  Wesen  which  she  had  conquered,  its  inhabitants 
did  not  forget  their  ancient  grudge  against  their  neighbors, 
and  their  pride  suffered  more  under  the  sovereignty  of 
their  equals  than  under  that  of  a  mighty  prince.  They 
conspired  to  avenge  the  house  of  Austria  on  the  Swiss. 
For  this  purpose  they  secretly  came  to  an  understanding 
with  the  neighboring  counts  and  lords ;  introduced  into  the 


1402.]  TREACHERY  OF  WESEN.  63 

city  Austrian  soldiers  in  disguise  or  concealed  in  casks, 
and  kept  them  hid  in  their  cellars  and  outhouses.  The 
better  to  deceive  the  people  of  Glarus,  they  asked  for  a 
stronger  garrison  of  Confederates.  Glarus,  mistrusting 
nothing,  sent  fifty  men. 

Suddenly,  on  the  appointed  night  (St.  Matthew's  Eve, 
1388)  Austrian  troops,  numbering  about  six  thousand,  ar- 
rived before  the  city  from  all  the  neighborhood,  overland 
and  over  the  lake  of  Wallenstat.  Every  thing  was  silent 
in  the  streets,  and  in  the  houses  where  the  citizens  and 
concealed  soldiers  awaited  the  signal  for  their  work  of 
death.  It  came.  Immediately  every  window  was  illumi- 
nated, every  gate  opened  to  admit  the  troops;  then  the 
massacre  began.  Konrad  of  Au,  in  Uri,  bailiff  and  gov- 
ernor of  the  city,  was  killed,  and  with  him  fell  more  than 
thirty  Confederates.  Twenty-two  leaped  from  the  city- 
walls  and  escaped  by  swimming. 

Glarus  was  rilled  with  terror,  and  sent  a  weak  handful 
of  faithful  men  to  the  Landmarch  against  the  invaders. 
The  enemy  advanced.  The  paths  over  the  high  alps  were 
covered  with  snow.  There  was  no  hope  of  speedy  assist- 
ance from  the  Confederates.  They  fought  for  several  days 
in  the  Landmarch.  In  great  distress,  Glarus  sent  to  the 
enemy  and  asked  for  an  equitable  peace.  The  Austrian 
nobles  replied  haughtily  and  imperiously  to  the  landam- 
mann  and  communes  of  Glarus :  UvYou  must  obey  the 
duke  of  Austria,  your  proper  sovereign,  as  serfs;  have 
only  such  laws  as  your  lord  shall  give  to  you  ;  pay  to  him 
quit-rent  and  taxes  ;  be  subject  to  labor-dues  and  the  right 
to  the  best  chattel,  as  he  shall  prescribe ;  there  shall  no 
longer  be  among  you  any  family  free  from  imposts ;  you 
shall  give  up  to  him  the  parchment  of  the  perpetual  bond 
you  have  entered  into  with  the  Swiss,  and  serve  him 
against  them ;  you  shall  compensate  the  city  of  Wesen 
for  all  the  damage  she  has  suffered,  and  expiate  your  mis- 
deeds until  you  deserve  the  grace  of  the  duke." 

Glarus  answered  and  said :  "  We  willingly  acknowledge 
the  princess-abbess  of  Seckingen  as  the  lady  of  our  land, 
and  the  duke  of  Austria  as  having  the  protectorate.  We 
will  pay  the  customary  dues,  and  even  compensate  the 


64  MATTHIAS  AM   BUEL.  [1388- 

city  of  Wesen ;  but  we  ask  to  retain  our  ancient  rights 
and  our  harmless  bond  with  the  Confederates." 

The  Austrian  councillors  and  lords  haughtily  disre- 
garded this  request,  and  marched  at  once  with  six  thou- 
sand men  against  the  barrier  near  Nafels,  where  captain 
Matthias  Am  Buel  was  posted  with  two  hundred  men  of 
Glarus.  Women  and  children  fled  for  safety  to  the  moun- 
tains ;  messengers  hastened  over  the  Alps  to  Uri  and 
Schwyz ;  the  laudsturm  (comprising  old  men  and  boys,  all 
who  can  handle  a  weapon)  rushed  forth.  But  the  over- 
powering army  of  the  Austrians  forced  the  defences  of  the 
barrier.  Fignting  with  barely  500  heroes,  Am  Buel  re- 
tired towards  mount  Ruti,  that  it  might  cover  his  rear; 
in  front,  was  a  rough  plain,  strewed  with  rocks.  This 
stony  ground  impeded  the  movements  of  the  Austrian 
cavalry;  the  people  of  Glarus  threw  down  masses  of  rock 
on  horse  and  man,  so  that  confusion  soon  spread  among 
the  multitude  of  the  enemy.  They  were  still  fighting 
valiantly,  when  warlike  and  encouraging  shouts  were 
heard  on  the  mountain.  They  came  from  thirty  men  of 
Schwyz,  hastening  to  the  rescue.  The  enemy,  ignorant 
of  their  number,  were  terrified.  The  alarmed  cavalry, 
already  in  confusion,  retreated.  Seeing  this,  the  Austrian 
infantry  thought  that  all  was  lost,  and  fled  in  dismay. 
Hurrying  upon  their  footsteps,  the  spears  and  swords  and 
maces  of  Glarus  made  horrible  carnage.  More  than  2500 
men  were  slain  in  the  orchards  and  meadows ;  many  threw 
themselves  into  the  waters  of  the  Linth.  The  bridge  of 
Wesen  broke  under  the  mass  of  fugitives,  and  .the  lake 
swallowed  up  the  cuirassed  corpses.  Such  was  the  battle 
of  Nafels  on  the  9th  day  of  April,  1388.  Even  at  this 
day  the  people  celebrate  its  anniversary  on  the  first 
Thursday  of  April,  and  hear  recited  the  names  of  the  he- 
roes who  fell,  and  of  the  heroes  who  conquered,  on  the 
holy  battle-field  of  freedom.  . 

Before  the  fame  of  this  exploit  reached  the  Confederates, 
they  were  already  assembled  under  their  banners.  Zurich, 
with  auxiliaries  from  all  the  Confederates,  attacked  the 
newly -fortified  city  of  Rapperswyl,  but  in  vain.  The 
Bernese,  aided  by  the  Solothurners,  conquered  Buren, 


-1402-]  CONFEDERATE  VICTORIES.  65 

Nidau,  Unterseen,  gained  a  battle  before  Freiburg,  ravaged 
Aargau,  destroyed  the  family-castle  of  Peter  of  Gauen- 
stein,  and  returned  home  through  the  Frickthal  laden  with 
booty. 

When  the  dukes  of  Austria  heard  of  so  many  reverses,  and 
saw  that  all  their  possessions  in  Thurgau  and  Aargau  were 
in  great  danger,  their  armies  beaten  and  dispersed,  their 
treasures  exhausted,  they  desired  to  make  peace,  and  con- 
cluded one  for  seven  years.  The  Swiss  held  all  the  districts 
which  had  sworn  to  come  under  their  jurisdiction ;  they 
only  gave  up  Wesen,  but  on  condition  that  no  one  of  those 
who  had  broken  the  oath  and  taken  part  in  the  massacre, 
should  dwell  there  during  the  peace. 

What  Leopold,  fourth  of  this  name  among  the  dukes  of 
Austria,  had  not  been  able  to  accomplish  by  force,  he  at- 
tempted by  craft.  He  tried  at  first  to  sow  dissension 
among  the  Swiss,  and  did,  in  fact,  gain  over  burgomaster 
Eudolf  Schon  and  some  lords  of  the  council,  at  Zurich. 
But  their  treachery  was  discovered  and  frustrated.  The 
burghers  of  Zurich  banished  this  dangerous  man  and  his  ad- 
herents, and  in  order  to  prevent  future  abuses,  swore  to  an 
act  which  limited  the  power  of  the  burgomaster  and  council. 
And  the  eight  cantons  of  the  Confederacy,  assembled  in 
diet  at  Zurich,  with  Solothurn,  agreed  among  themselves 
to  a  general  law  respecting  future  wars  (10  June,  1393,) 
and  swore  :  "To  avoid  useless  feuds,  but  to  unite  all  their 
efforts  in  case  of  necessary  war ;  never  to  stop  fighting  even 
when  wounded,  until  the  decision  of  the  affair ;  not  to  flee, 
but  to  remain  masters  of  the  field  ;  not  to  pillage,  except 
by  permission  of  the  general ;  to  spare  churches,  convents, 
and  defenceless  wives  and  daughters."  This  law  of  the 
Confederates,  made  on  occasion  of  the  war  commenced  by 
the  battle  of  Sempach,  and  for  the  better  ordering  of  their 
forces,  was  called  the  Convention  of  Sempach. 

When  Austria  demanded  a  prolongation  of  the  peace,  it 
was  fixed  at  twenty  years,  and  observed. 

The  Confederates  were  glad  to  have  this  fine  respite,  that 
they  might  increase  their  franchises  and  commonwealths 
by  ransom  and  purchase.  Then  no  one  was  poor,  but 
every  one  rich,  when  contributions  and  imposts  were  re- 

F* 


66  PEACE   AND  [1888- 

quired  for  the  glory  of  the  fatherland ;  as,  in  the  day  of 
battles  every  one  was  rich  in  courage  and  blood.  That 
was  indeed  a  golden  age. 

Then  the  Zurichers  bought  from  the  impoverished 
Aastrian  nobility  the  bailiwicks  of  Kussnacht  on  the  lake 
of  Zurich,  of  Hongg  and  Thalwyl ;  obtained  the  signiories 
of  Grunenberg,  Regensberg  and  many  others;  the  Lu- 
cerners  acquired  all  Rothenburg,  Ebikon,  rights  over 
Merischwanden  and  neighboring  villages  on  the  lake  of  the 
Waldstatten ;  received  on  mortgage  the  castles  of  Woll- 
husen,  Russwyl  and  Entlibuch  ;  the  Bernese  secured  many 
places  and  rights  in  the  mountains  of  the  Oberland,  the 
valley  of  Frutigen,  fertile  Emmenthal,  the  county  of  the 
lords  of  Kyburg  in  Burgundy,  from  Thun  as  far  as  the 
bridge  of  Aarwangen.  The  cities  of  Solothurn  and  Bale 
also  extended  their  rights  and  territories  more  rapidly  with 
gold  than  they  had  done  with  the  sword.  The  always  free 
people  of  the  valley  of  Urseren,  on  the  St.  Gotthard, 
united  with  Uri  in  a  perpetual  community  of  rights  ;  and 
when  the  people  of  the  duke  of  Milan,  in  consequence  of 
a  dispute  respecting  tolls,  took  from  some  men  of  Obwalden 
and  Uri  the  cattle  which  the  latter  were  driving  to  the 
yearly  fair  at  Yarese,  Uri  and  Obwalden  advanced  their 
banners  over  the  St.  Gotthard  mountain,  and  caused  the 
people  of  the  valley  of  Leventina  to  come  under  their  pro- 
tection and  to  swear  allegiance  to  them.  No  one  opposed 
this,  for  even  the  lords  of  Bellinzona,  from  fear  of  the 
Confederates,  made  an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance 
with  them. 

Thus,  during  the  days  of  peace,  the  Swiss  enlarged  their 
territory  by  purchase  and  negotiation,  embellished  their 
cities  and  villages,  and  ameliorated  their  constitutions. 
Freiburg  in  Uechtland  abjured  her  ancient  enmity  against 
Berne,  made  a  treaty  of  everlasting  friendship  and  co- 
burghership  with  the  latter,  and  a  perpetual  league  with  the 
city  of  Bienne.  Schaffhausen  remodelled  her  constitution 
on  that  of  Zurich,  with  greater  freedom.  But  the  city  of 
Zug  had  a  quarrel  with  the  three  communes  of  Menzingen, 
Baar  and  Aegeri,  respecting  the  custody  of  the  banner  and 
seal  of  the  canton,  so  that  there  was  danger  of  a  civil  war, 


1402.]  ITS  FRUITS.  67 

until  the  Confederates  reestablished  peace  and  justice  by  an 
armed  intervention.  Glarus  ransomed  herself  from  the 
tithes  and  rights  of  the  abbey  of  Seckingen,  so  that  every 
one  was  free  from  tribute. 

Such  were  the  works  of  peace  among  the  Confederates 
after  the  battles  for  freedom  of  Sempach  and  Nafels. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE    HEROIC    DAYS    OF    THE    APPENZELLER8. 
[A.  D.  1408  to  1411.] 

THE  people  in  the  mountaina  of  Appenzell,  on  the 
streams  of  the  Sitter,  heard  of  the  great  battles  and  doings 
of  the  Confederates.  And  they  thought  with  sad  hearts 
of  the  abbot  of  St.  Gallen,  what  a  hard  man  he  was,  how 
immoderately  he  had  increased  the  imperial  tribute,  and 
of  the  arbitrary  conduct  of  the  officers  whom  he  set  over 
them.  Impositions,  which  they  could  hardly  bear,  were 
laid  with  inhumanity.  The  bailiffs  in  Schwaendi  levied  a 
heavy  toll  on  cheese,  milk  and  butter,  and  whoever  at- 
tempted to  pass  the  toll-house  without  paying  was  seized 
by  two  trained  hounds.  The  bailiff  at  Appenzell,  to  assert 
his  right  to  the  best  chattel,  under  which  the  best  coat  of 
the  dead  belonged  to  him,  caused  a  grave  to  be  opened, 
that  he  might  take  from  the  corpse  the  garment  in  which 
poor  children  had  buried  their  father.  ^ 

At  last  the  people  were  filled  with  indignation,  and 
would  no  longer  bear  such  an  abuse  of  power.  They  said, 
"  This  must  not  continue ;"  and  one  day  they  attacked  the 
castles  and  drove  away  the  officers.  Abbot  Kuno,  at  the 
moment,  had  neither  troops  on  foot,  nor  money  with  which 
to  hire  them.  He  therefore  applied  to  the  ten  Suabian 
imperial  cities,  with  whom  he  was  in  league,  and  asked  for 
assistance.  The  imperial  cities  sent  threatening  messages 
to  the  Appenzellers.  These  said  to  the  messengers:  "We 
will  willingly  pay  all  our  dues  to  the  abbot,  but  we  can- 


68  ABBOT  KUNO.  [1403- 

not  endure  injustice.  We  only  ask  that  the  abbot  shall 
choose  his  officers  from  among  the  upright  men  whom  we 
will  nominate  to  him."  The  imperial  cities  held  council 
at  Ravensburg,  refused  the  proposition  of  the  people,  and 
reinstated  the  ejected  officers,  who  now  added  revenge  to 
cruelty. 

Abbot  Kuno  also  had  a  dispute  with  the  flourishing  city 
of  St.  Gallen,  which  had  already  received  great  franchises 
from  the  emperors,  and  was  in  league  with  other  cities. 
This  city,  enriched  by  the  activity  of  her  commerce  and 
manufactures,  would  gladly  have  made  herself  independent 
of  the  abbey.  As  Appenzell  and  St.  Gallen  had  the  same 
fears  and  the  same  needs  respecting  their  rights,  they  made 
a  compact  with  each  other,  mutually  to  defend  their  an- 
cient franchises.  This  displeased  the  abbot  greatly.  He 
increased  his  harshness  towards  the  Appenzellers,  disre- 
garded their  complaints,  and  tried  to  break  their  league 
with  St.  Gallen.  Thereat  the  people  became  indignant, 
demanded  an  explanation  from  the  abbot,  and  seized  their 
arms.  Kuno,  affrighted,  fled  to  his  estate  at  Wyl.  The 
ten  imperial  cities  assembled  anew  and  decided :  "  The 
abbot  shall  fill  his  offices  with  people  of  the  country,  but 
without  previous  nomination ;  the  amount  of  the  imperial 
tribute  shall  be  fixed  by  the  emperor,  but  the  compact 
which  those  of  Appenzell  swore  to  with  St.  Gallen  is  and 
shall  be  null  and  void."  St.  Gallen  submitted  to  this  sen- 
tence. But  the  people  in  the  mountains  of  Appenzell 
cried  out  that  it  was  treachery.  They  saw  clearly  that  the 
lords  of  the  Suabian  cities  were  arrogant  and  proud,  and 
preferred  the  interests  of  a  prince-bishop  before  those  of 
common  peasants.  Then  the  people  of  the  mountains 
assembled  together,  and  the  Rotten  or  Rhodes  (cohorts, 
bands)  of  the  country  swore  to  their  chiefs,  and  all  the 
communes  to  the  landammann,  in  the  village  of  Appen- 
zell, to  hold  together  in  danger  and  in  death  for  defence 
of  their  rights. 

As  they  were  deserted  by  the  city  of  St.  Gallen,  they 
asked  the  cantons  of  the  Confederates,  excepting  Berne,  to 
be  allowed  to  enter  into  the  bond  with  them.  Five  of 
these  timidly  refused,  but  Schwyz  received  Appenzell  into 


1411.]  JACOB  HARTSCH.  69 

her  alliance,  and  Gj^arus  proclaimed:  "Whatever  cour- 
ageous lover  of  liberty  wishes  to  help  the  Appenzellers,  is 
free  to  do  so." 

At  news  of  this,  the  imperial  cities  reiterated  their 
threatening  warning  to  the  people  of  Appenzell,  and  after- 
wards, in  concert  with  the  abbot,  resolved  to  reduce  the 
peasants  to  subjection  by  force.  They  armed  cavalry  and 
infantry,  and  sent  them  to  the  city  of  St.  Gallen,  where 
the  abbot  entertained  them  magnificently.  Then  they  ad- 
vanced; the  cavalry,  with  brilliant  coats  of  mail,  in  front; 
behind  them  five  thousand  infantry.  The  army  passed 
over  the  Linsenbuhl,  through  the  sunken  way,  towards  the 
height  of  Voglinseck,  where  is  the  village  of  Speicher.  It 
was  the  15th  of  May,  1403,  in  the  early  morning. 

The  Appenzellers,  well-informed,  had  with  them  two 
hundred  men  of  Glarus  and  three  hundred  of  Schwyz,  and 
when  the  watchers  on  the  mountain -heights  gave  notice  of 
the  enemy's  approach,  the  landsturm  came  forth.  Each, 
manfully  took  leave  of  wife  and  child,  resolved  to  risk  all 
for  all ;  and  the  old  men,  who  could  not  go  with  them, 
blessed  their  sons.  Two  thousand  hastened  to  the  top  of 
the  Voglinseck.  Eighty  Appenzellers  took  post  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  sunken  way ;  on  the  left  and  right,  near 
them  in  the  woods,  lay  the  men  of  Glarus  and  Schwyz. 

The  enemy's  cavalry  rode  courageously  up  the  moun- 
tain; there  the  eighty  attacked  them  with  spears  and 
slings;  there  the  men  of  Glarus  and  Schwyz  came  out 
upon  their  flanks  from  the  ambush  on  each  side  of  the 
sunken  way.  The  cavalry  in  the  narrow  pass  could  nei- 
ther fight  nor  wheel ;  they  spurred  wildly  up  the  moun- 
tain to  reach  the  .plain  above,  but  there  all  Appenzell 
advanced  in  armed  cohorts,  led  by  Captain  Jacob  Hartsch. 
When  the  enemy's  generals  saw  this,  they  determined  to 
return  through  the  sunken  way,  and  await  the  Appenzell- 
ers below.  They  gave  the  order,  "  Back !"  and  at  once, 
through  the  whole  troop  on  the  mountain,  resounded 
"  Back !  back !''  Thereat  the  rear  ranks  thought  that  all 
was  lost  above,  and  that  flight  was  ordered.  Terror  seized 
upon  them.  But  Appenzell,  Glarus  and  Schwyz  rushed 
at  once,  from  all  sides,  into  the  sunken  way,  slaying  therein 


70  RUDOLF  OF  WERDENBERG.  [1403- 

above  and  below.  Then  ensued  a  i»ut  and  a  despairing 
flight  towards  St.  Gallen.  Six  hundred  knights,  clothed 
in  armor,  lay  dead  in  the  sunken  way ;  others  dashed 
through  their  own  infantry.  Close  upon  their  footsteps 
followed  the  murderous  sword  and  spear  and  mace  of  the 
Appenzeller. 

Now  there  was  great  mourning  in  the  ten  imperial  cities 
for  lost  fathers  and  sons,  and  the  cities  would  risk  no  more 
for  the  abbot,  but  concluded  peace.  The  abbot,  on  the 
contrary,  heaped  insults  on  the  cities  and  on  the  Appen- 
zellers,  who  destroyed  all  his  castles  in  their  country,  and 
ravaged  his  domains.  He  applied  to  duke  Frederic  of 
Austria,  and  said :  "  Appenzell  will  become  a  second  Swit- 
zerland, if  not  prevented  ;  and,  in  case  she  joins  the  Con- 
federates, the  nobility  and  Austria  will  lose  everything  in 
the  upper  country." 

After  many  parleyings,  duke  Frederic  promised  assist- 
ance, and  assembled  many  noble  knights  and  a  large  army. 
Then  he  divided  his  forces,  and  advanced  upon  Arbon  and 
St.  Gallen,  to  invade  the  country  on  both  sides  at  once.  But, 
previously,  Rudolf  of  Werdenberg  had  appeared  before 
the  general  assembly  of  the  Appenzell ers  and  said :  "I 
have  been  informed  that  the  duke  is  raising  troops  in  Ty- 
rol to  fight  against  you.  The  oppressed  must  hold  to- 
gether ;  therefore  I  come  to  you.  You  all  know  me. 
Behind  these  rocks  is  Werdenberg,  the  inheritance  of  my 
fathers ;  my  ancestors  were  sovereigns  in  the  Rheinthal.* 
Austrian  rapacity  has  robbed  me  of  everything;  nothing 
is  left  to  me  but  my  heart  and  my  sword.  These  I  bring 
to  you.  Let  me  remain  among  you,  a  free  countryman  of 
Appenzell,  and  live  and  fight  with  you." 

Thus  said  he,  laid  aside  his  armor  and  rich  count's  dress, 
put  on  the  common  shepherd's  clothes,  and  lived  among 
them.  Such  conduct  in  this  heroic  warrior  pleased  them 
all,  and  they  made  him  their  general-in-chief.  They  built 
ramparts  in  the  defiles,  and  renewed  their  old  alliance  with 
the  city  of  St.  Gallen. 

*  A  valley  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine,  in  the  present  canton  of  St. 
Gallen. 


-14H.]  THE  gross.  71 

On  a  rainy  day  (17  June,  1405)  the  largest  body  of  duke 
Frederic's  forces  marched  from  Altstatten  in  the  Rhein  thai, 
ascending  towards  the  frontiers  of  Appenzell  and  up  the  Stoss 
mountain.  The  way  was  difficult,  the  ascent  slippery  upon 
the  short  grass  of  the  slope,  wet  with  rain.  Four  hundred  Ap- 
penzellers,  with  a  few  men  from  Glarus  and  Schwyz,  rolled 
rocks  and  trunks  of  trees  from  the  heights  down  upon  the 
troops.  These  latter  had  hardly  reached  the  middle  of  the 
ascent  when  Rudolf  of  Werdenberg  gave  a  signal.  Then 
the  cohorts  of  Appenzell  rushed  with  loud  shouts  upon  the 
already  broken  array ;  Rudolf  at  their  head,  barefooted 
like  all  the  Appenzellers  ;  thus  they  had  a  surer  foothold 
on  the  slippery  soil.  The  enemy  could  not  use  their  cross- 
bows, because  the  strings  were  slackened  by  the  rain.  It 
was  only  sword  and  spear,  against  sword  and  spear.  Aus- 
tria fought  with  desperation.  Suddenly,  upon  the  heights 
behind, /appeared  a  large  fresh  troop  of  Appenzellers,  who 
seemed  determined  to  cut  off  the  Austrians'  retreat.  At 
once  the  terrified  enemy  hurried  down  the  mountain,  Ap- 
penzell slaying  as  they  went.  But  those  on  the  heights 
were  the  wives  and  daughters  of  Appenzell,  all  in  shep- 
herd's frocks.  They  wished  to  die  for  freedom  with  their 
husbands,  lovers  and  brothers,  or  to  help  them  conquer. 
Now,  blood  and  rain  flowed  mingled,  in  the  mountain- 
streams.  Six  hours  long  lasted  the  combat  and  the  flight 
to  the  Rheinthal.  Then  Appenzell  returned  to  the  Stoss, 
and,  kneeling  on  the  battle-field,  thanked  God  for  this  great 
victory. 

In  the  mean  while,  duke  Frederic,  ravaging  everything 
on  his  passage,  arrived  with  his  splendid  cavalry  before  the 
walls  of  the  city  of  St.  Gallen.  But  when  he  found  the 
city  too  strong,  and  was  returning "  towards  Arbon,  the 
burghers  of  St.  Gallen,  divided  into  several  small  troops, 
fell  upon  his  disorderly  march,  and  killed  many  Austrians 
on  the  Hauptlisberge.  This  disgrace  troubled  the  duke 
sorely  ;  but  he  was  still  more  troubled  when  he  heard  of 
the  defeat  of  his  people  on  the  Stoss.  Then  he  swore  not 
to  retire  without  vengeance.  He  caused  a  report  to  be 
spread  that  he  was  retreating  homewards  from  Arbon  into 
Tyrol,  and  he  did,  in  fact,  march  to  the  Rhine  with  his 


72  THE  WOLFSHALDE.  [l408- 

troops.  But,  having  reached  the  village  of  Thai,  he  sud- 
denly wheeled  about,  to  cross  the  Wolfshalde  against  Ap- 
penzell.  He  hoped  to  surprise  and  terrify  the  shepherd- 
people.  But  the  Appenzellers  were  already  forewarned. 
Four  hundred  of  them,  uttering  loud  shouts,  attacked  the 
Austrian  soldiers,  who  marched  without  mistrust  and  with- 
out order.  The  latter  hastily  took  up  an  advantageous 
post  near  the  church.  The  combat  was  terrible.  Forty 
Appenzellers  were  killed  before  the  duke's  ranks  could  be 
broken.  But  then  the  Austrians  fled  in  a  body  down  the 
Wolfehalde.  Every  slain  Appenzeller  was  avenged  by 
the  death  of  ten  flying  enemies. 

Then  the  duke  cursed  this  war,  and  rode  back  into  Ty- 
rol. The  Appenzellers,  the  glory  and  fear  of  whom  spread 
far  over  the  land,  now  made  a  league  for  nine  years  with 
St.  Gallen ;  gratefully  avenged  Rudolf  of  Werdenberg  on 
Austria,  and  restored  to  him  the  inheritance  of  his  fathers; 
gratefully  assisted  the  Schwyzers  to  take  the  valley  of 
Waegi  and  the  Lower  March  (which  now  forms  the  nor- 
thern part  of  the  canton  of  Schwyz  and  lies  north-west  of 
Waegi,  in  the  same  canton)  from  the  dukes  of  Austria,  and 
penetrated  by  the  Vorarlberg  into  Tyrol,  near  Landeck, 
where  they  vanquished  the  duke's  mercenaries.  Then  said 
the  Tyrolese  peasants  on  the  Inn  and  the  Etsch  :  "  What 
do  we  care?  Let  us  become  free  Swiss!"  Then  the  Ap- 
penzellers were  informed  that  the  duke  was  collecting 
the  forces  of  the  empire  against  them,  on  the  lake  of  Con- 
stance. Therefore  they  hastened  home  from  Tyrol.  But 
they  found  no  enemy. 

This  war  raged  for  five  years.  Appenzell,  victorious, 
feared  by  all  her  enemies  on  the  lake  of  Constance,  the 
Thur  and  the  Inn,  tox>k  more  than  sixty  castles,  destroyed 
more  than  thirty  of  them,  and  at  last  besieged  the  city  of 
Bregenz,  but  without  success. 

Peace  was  not  thought  of  until  after  great  desolation  in 
all  these  regions.  The  king  of  the  Germans  himself  wished 
to.  settle  the  difficulty,  but  Appenzell  considered  his  de- 
cision partial.  By  the  mediation  of  Schwyz,  abbot  Kuno 
had  his  legitimate  revenues  restored  to  him ;  but  he  lost 
forever  all  soyereign  power  and  rights  over  Appenzell. 


-1411.]  LEAGUE  WITH  CONFEDERATES.  73 

Austria  made  a  peace  for  several  years,  and  resumed  pos- 
session of  the  Rheiuthal. 

The  Appenzellers,  satisfied  with,  freedom  and  independ- 
ence in  their  mountain-home,  on  St.  Catherine's  day,  1411, 
entered  into  a  league  with  the  Confederates,  but  not  then 
with  Berne  j  agreed  not  to  undertake  another  war  without 
the  consent  of  the  Swiss,  and,  in  case  of  war,  to  assist  the 
latter  with  all  their  force  and  at  their  own  expense.  The 
Swiss,  on  the  other  hand,  reserved  to  themselves  united, 
and  to  each  canton  separately,  the  right  to  extend  or  to 
limit  this  league,  and,  if  they  were  obliged  to  aid  the  Ap- 
penzellers in  a  war,  it  was  to  be  at  the  expense  of  the 
latter. 

The  formation  of  this  league,  which  did  not  give  equal 
rights  to  both  parties,  shows  how  much  the  Appenzellers 
feared  for  the  maintenance  of  their  newly-acquired  inde- 
pendence, since  they  were  willing  to  purchase  the  league 
with  the  Confederates  at  any  price;  and  how  much,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  Confederates  feared  being  drawn  into 
bloody  conflict  with  foreigners  by  the  warlike  people  of 
Appenzell, 


CHAPTER    XX. 

THE    CONFEDERATES    CONQUER    AARGAU   AND    ESTABLISH    COMMON 
BAILIWICKS. 

[A.  D.  1412  to  1418.] 

AFTER  the  brave  people  in  the  mountains  of  Appenzell 
had  obtained  their  liberty  and  formed  a  league  with  the 
Confederates,  they  were  well  contented,  ana  no  longer 
desired  war.  Duke  Frederic  of  Austria,  also,  saw  that  it 
was  useless  to  contend  with  a  people  strong  in  union  for 
their  right,  preferring  independence  to  life.  He  saw,  more- 
over, that  the  Confederates  were  so  powerful  that  their 
friendship  was  more  desirable  to  him  than  their  enmity. 
Therefore  duke  Frederic  opened  a  negotiation  with  them, 
and  concluded  a  treaty  for  fifty  years  with  the  eight  repub- 
4 


74  THE  COUNCIL  OF  CONSTANCE.  [1412- 

lics  or  cantons  who  composed  the  Confederacy  (on  the  28th 
of  May,  1412)  and  recognized  their  right  to  all  they  held. 
They,  on  their  side,  recognized  the  mortgages,  fiefs  and 
other  rights  which  the  duke  held  in  their  country.  This 
fifty  years'  peace  was  assented  to  by  sixteen  cities  in  the 
duke  s  hereditary  domains,  viz. :  Schaffhausen  and  Wakl- 
shut,  Laufenburg,  Seckingen,  Rheinfelden,  Diessenhofen, 
Baden,  Rapperswyl,  Brugg,  Bremgarten,  Zofingen,  Suraee. 
Lenzburg,  Mellingen,  Aarau  and  Frauenfeld. 

But  this  peace  lasted  barely  three  years.  Then  it  hap- 
pened that  Sigismund,  king  of  the  Germans,  went  to  Con- 
stance, where,  at  the  same  period,  a  great  council  was  as- 
sembled to  put  an  end  to  the  many  differences  in  the  Chris- 
tian church.  Thither  came  the  principal  prelates  from 
countries  far  and  near,  and  embassadors  from  the  kings 
and  princes  of  Italy,  Germany,  France,  England,  Poland, 
Denmark,  Sweden,  Hungary  and  many  other  kingdoms. 
An  arrangement  and  settlement  had  become  necessary, 
because  a  priest,  named  Huss,  had  preached,  at  Prague  in 
Bohemia,  a  new  doctrine,  opposed  to  that  of  the  catholic 
church,  and  had  found  many  followers.  Besides  this,  the 
catholic  church  was  divided  in  herself,  as,  instead  of  one 
pope,  she  had  three  popes,  in  Italy  and  France,  who 
anathematized  and  excommunicated  each  other.  This 
occasioned  much  scandal  in  Christendom. 

While  the  spiritual  and  temporal  princes  were  assem- 
bled at  Constance,  duke  Frederic  had  a  quarrel  with  em- 
peror Sigismund.  The  duke  refused  to  go  to  Constance 
to  receive  his  fiefs  from  the  hand  of  the  emperor,  accord- 
ing to  ancient  custom.  The  fathers  of  the  council  were 
also  incensed  against  the  duke,  because  he  had  taken  under 
his  powerful  protection  one  of  the  popes,  named  John, 
whom  they  wished  to  depose.  As  the  duke  obstinately 
refused  obedience  to  the  church-council,  they  pronounced 
against  him  the  anathema  of  Judas  and  the  greater  excom- 
munication. The  emperor  declared  him  guilty  of  high 
treason  against  the  imperial  majesty  and  against  the  em- 
pire, stripped  him  of  all  princely  honors  and  deprived  him 
of  his  fiefs.  All  faithful  subjects  of  the  empire  were  sum- 
moned against  the  duke,  as  were  the  Confederates  also. 


-U18.]  BERNE'S  AMBITION.  75 

The  emperor  summoned  the  city  of  Schaffhausen  against  the 
duke,  her  lord,  and,  as  an  inducement,  offered  her  inde- 
pendence, that  she,  like  other  free  cities,  might  hold  direct- 
ly from  the  empire.  The  people  of  Schaffhausen  eagerly 
seized  this  offer.  Frauenfeld,  Diessenhofen  and  almost  all 
Aargau  listened  to  the  same  or  similar  proposals  from  the 
emperor. 

But  the  Confederates  felt  a  just  scruple  at  violating  the 
fifty  years'  treaty  they  had  recently  concluded  with  the 
duke.  The  holy  assembly  of  the  church,  it  was  true,  de- 
clared such  a  course  exempt  from  all  sin,  and  the  emperor 
said;  "The  territory  which  you  may  conquer  from  Aus- 
tria, your  hereditary  enemy,  shall  remain  your  property 
in  all  time,"  But  those  in  the  Waldstatten,  as  well  as 
Zurich,  Zug,  Lucerne  and  Olarus,  answered  :  "  We  cannot 
persuade  ourselves  that  such  a  breach  of  faith  can  be  hon- 
orable." 

•  Berne,  however,  thought  differently.  The  opportunity 
appeared  favorable  to  increase  her  own  domains  and  to 
diminish  the  power  of  Austria  in  her  neighborhood.  Un- 
til this  time,  the  city  had  enlarged  her  territory,  not  by  the 
sword,  but  by  negotiation  and  principally  by  purchase. 
But  now  Berne  said  to  Zurich :  "  Justice  and  honor  per- 
mit the  war,  since  empire  and  church  "command  it ;  the 
hour  for  the  destruction  of  all  the  enemies  of  our  fore- 
fathers has  now  struck !"  As  the  Confederates  still  hesi- 
tated, the  emperor  sent  frequently  renewed  messages  to 
them,  and  the  church-council,  several  times,  threatened  to 
excommunicate  all  the  Confederates,  if  they  did  not  march 
against  the  duke. 

Berne  speedily  armed  her  troops.  When  Zurich  saw 
this,  she  wished  not  to  be  behind,  but  to  have  her  share 
of  the  booty.  Then  the  other  Confederates*  obeyed  the 
summons  of  the  emperor  and  of  the  church ;  but  Appenzell 
did  not. 

When  the  cities  and  nobles  in  Aargau  were  informed  of 
these  things,  and  of  the  disgrace  of  their  sovereign,  duke 

*  Zug  appears  to  have  remained  firm  in  her  refusal,  and  to  have  taken 
no  part  in  the  expedition. 


76  PRIDE  OF  THE  NOBLES.  [1412- 

Frederic,  they  assembled  in  diet  at  Sursee,  in  the  spring 
of  1415.  And  the  cities  said,  "''Let  us  remain  neutral 
between  Austria  and  Switzerland,  and  maintain  our 
prince's  rights  with  our  own  liberties.  The  time  has  come 
when  all  Aargau  should  make  a  perpetual  league  for  the 
protection  of  all.  Then  she  can  enter  the  Swiss  Confeder- 
acy as  a  single  free  state,  without  fear  of  a  greater,  without 
subjection  to  her  equals,  and  on  a  par  with  all  the  cantons 
of  the  Swiss 'in  honor  and  dignity." 

The  pride  of  the  barons  and  nobles  would  not  allow 
them  to  make  common  cause  with  the  cities.  They  pre- 
ferred to  serve  a  prince  rather  than  to  have  burghers  for 
equals.  So  the  Diet  separated  without  result.  But  the 
cities  resolved  to  place  themselves  under  the  protection  of 
the  whole  Confederacy.  This,  also,  was  already  too  late. 

For,  when  the  deputies  of  the  cities  started,  in  the  early 
mor.ning,  on  their  mission  to  the  Confederates,  they  saw, 
on  all  the  heights,  the  Swiss  signals  of  attack,  and  their 
banners  and  troops  on  the  march.  Sadly  they  returned 
home. 

The  Bernese  troops  marched  upon  Zofingen,  harassed 
the  city  several  days,  and  compelled  it  to  abjure  the  duke 
and  to  take  an  oath  to  the  empire  and  to  Berne.  To  the 
right  of  Zofingen  are  the  Wyken,  four  towers  upon  rocky 
summits ;  the  Bernese  took  three,  the  Lucerners  carried  the 
fourth.  On  the  left  of  Zofingen  is  Aarburg,  the  fortress, 
next  to  the  little  city  on  the  Aar ;  Berne  took  both,  as  well 
as  the  two  Wart-burgen  (watch-towers)  on  the  neighboring 
mountain-summits.  Then  the  troops  marched  upon  Aarau, 
having  been  reinforced  from  Solothurn,  Bienne,  Neuchatel, 
and  Neustadt.  Aarau,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of 
some  of  her  citizens,  yielded  herself,  with  reservation  of 
her  franchises,  *rtto  the  protection  of  the  Roman  empire 
and  of  the  cities  of  Berne  and  Solothurn.  Brugg  and 
Lenzburg  also  capitulated  on  similar  conditions;  many 
castles  in  Aargau  did  the  same:  Trostburg,  which  was 
destroyed  by  fire,  Ruod,  Brunegg,  and  others.  Thus  the 
Bernese,  in  a  few  weeks,  by  the  rapidity  of  their  attack, 
subjected  seventeen  strong  castles  and  walled  cities,  with- 
out loss  to  themselves.  Only  before  the  castle  of  Wildegg, 


»H1S.]  SCRUPLES  OF  URI>  77 

where  the  valiant  barons  of  Hallwyl  made  a  vigorous  re- 
sistance-, were  four  men  slain* 

At  the  same  time,  the  Lucerners  unfurled  their  banners 
over  Sursee,  subjected  the  upper  countries  on  the  Sur, 
Wiggern^  Aa,  and  Winna,  until  they  reached  the  limits  of 
the  Bernese  conquests.  Towards  the  east,  they  conquered 
the  fertile  country  near  Reichensee,  Meyeuberg,  and  Yill- 
mergen. 

The  Zurichers  had  already  passed  Mount  Albis  into  the 
free  bailiwick  of  Knonau,  which  they  compelled  to  take 
the  oath  to  them.  Another  troop  went  by  the  Limmat 
against  Baden  in  Aargau,  taking  Dietikon. 

In  the  region  where  the  Limmat  and  the  Reuss  approach 
the  Aar,  the  troops  of  the  seven  cantons  of  the  Confeder- 
acy united,  and  together  conquered  what  remained  of  the 
hereditary  domains  of  Austria :  Mellingen,  Bremgarten, 
Baden.  Mellingen  maintained  her  faith  to  the  duke  for 
four  davs ;  Baden  made  a  still  stronger  resistance.  In  the 
castle,  the  Stein,  above  Baden,  was  the  lord  of  Mannsberg 
with  a  numerous  force.  But  when  the  engines  of  the  Ber- 
nese had  battered  down  a  part  of  the  walls,  and  water  failed 
the  besieged,  the  Stein  of  Baden,  also,  was  surrendered  and 
destroyed.  Far  over  the  land  shone  the  flames  of  that  an- 
cient castle. 

After  their  conquests  were  concluded,  the  Confederates 
organized  their  new  domains.  What  Berne,  Zurich  and 
Lucerne  had  conquered  by  their  individual  arms,  each  of 
the  three  cities  kept  for  herself,  with  the  rights  which 
Austria  had  possessed.  What  had  been  conquered  in 
common,  was  to  be  the  individual  domain  of  all,  only 
Berne  was  excluded  from  participation,  because  she  al- 
ready had  so  much. 

But  Uri  said :  "  We  learn  that  the  emperor  has  been  re- 
conciled to  duke  Frederic.  Let  us  rather  give  back  to  the 
emperor  what  we  have  taken,  that  he  may  restore  to  the 
duke  what  is  his.  For  this  war  was  not  ours,  but  the  em- 
peror's. We,  O  Confederates!  we  men  of  Uri  will  have  no 
share  in  what  is  not  our  own.  Our  fathers  have  transmit- 
ted to  us  the  custom  of  esteeming  an  inviolable  fidelity 
above  all  other  things." 

G* 


78  ABANDONMENT  OF  PRINCIPLE.  [1419- 

The  other  Confederates  laughed  at  this,  and  said  :  "  How 
scrupulous  and  godly  these  men  of  Uri  are !  They  must 
always  be  peculiar!"  And  they  decided:  "Inasmuch  as 
Uri  refuses,  Zurich,  Lucerne,  Sehwyz,  tfnterwalden  and 
Glarus  shall  alternately  send  a  bailiff,  for  two  years,  into 
these  common  bailiwicks,  and,  every  year,  deputies  from 
all  the  participating  cantons  shall  examine  into  the  govern- 
ment and  the  management  of  the  revenues." 

Thus  the  Confederates  kept  their  conquests,  and  were 
confirmed  in  them  by  the  emperor.  They  reigned  over 
these  countries  in  the  place  of  Austria,  and,  though  free 
burghers  in  cities  and  cantons,  bad,  like  princes,  greatly 
increased  the  number  of  their  subjects'. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE   MAZZA   OF  VALAIS    AGAINST   RARON.      THE    BATTLE    OF  ARBEDO, 
AND    THE    CUNNING    OF  LORD  ZOPPO. 

[A.  D.  1419  to  1426.] 

A  CENTURY  had  now  hardly  elapsed  since  the  deed  of 
William  Tell,  and  the  cities  and  cantons  of  Switzerland, 
formerly  subject,  had  made  others  subject,  and  were  feared 
by  those  before  whom  they  had  themselves  t-embled.  And 
the  sons  of  the  old  warriors  and  knights,  who,  from  their 
castles  on  the  rocks,  had  formerly  threatened  the  cities, 
now  humbly  asked  for  the  right  of  citizenship  in  them,  or 
sold  to  them  their  lands,  and  went  into  other  countries, 
that  they  might  not  be  compelled  to  obey  plebeian  burghers. 

Therefore  the  cities  and  cantons  of  the  Confederacy  felt 
their  strength  and  a  military  pride,  which  could  not  be 
wounded  with  impunity,  either  by  friends  or  foes.  This 
was  seen  in  the  quarrels  occasioned  by  Wichard  of  Raron, 
captain-general  of  Valais. 

At  the  time  when  the  Confederates,  with  the  people  of 
Uri,  conquered  the  Leventina,  they  also  took  possession  of 
the  neighboring  valley  of  Ossola,  and  left  there  a  weak 


-1426.]  FLIGHT  OF   RAROtf.  79 

garrison.  The  duke  of  Milan,  unwilling  to  leave  Ossola  to 
the  Swiss,  sold  it  to  the  duke  of  Savoy.  The  latter  sent 
troops  to  Ossola  through  Valais;  the  baron  of  Raron 
showed  them  the  way  over  the  mountains,  and  the  few 
Swiss  were  compelled  to  retire. 

The  baron  of  Raron  said  :  •"  If  I  had  been  there,  no  Swiss 
should  have  been  left  alive."  These  arrogant  words  em- 
bittered the  people  of  Unterwalden  and  Uri ;  they  accused 
the  baron  in  vain  before  Berne,  where  he  was  a  citizen ; 
therefore  they  excited  against  him  the  peasants  of  Valais. 
The  latter  had  already  many  subjects  of  complaint  against 
him  :  that  he  had  made  a  compact  with  Savoy  contrary  to 
their  will ;  that  he  and  the  grandees  of  the  country  viola- 
ted the  ancient  customs,  and  wished  to  introduce  serfdom. 
The  men  of  Brieg  said :  "  If  Valais  is  to  retain  her  ancient 
rights,  the  great  lords  must  be  bitted  and  curbed ;  all  hon- 
est men  must  lend  a  hand  for  this." 

And,  according  to  a  very  ancient  custom  of  the  country, 
some  men  took  an  enormous  club,  on  which  they  carved  a 
human  face  with  an  expression  of  sadness,  and  surrounded 
it  with  thorns ;  this  represented  oppressed  justice,  and  was 
called  "  La  Mazza"  by  the  Valaisians.  They  raised  it  on 
high  in  an  open  square,  the  people  came  around  it,  and  a 
bold  man  stood  by  the  club,  as  chief  of  the  Mazza,  and 
held  it.  Then  many  of  the  people  addressed  the  image  and 
said  :  "  Mazza,  why  art  thou  here  ?"  But  it  answered  not. 
Others  said  :  "  Mazza,  we  wish  to  help  thee ;  tell  us,  against 
whom  ?  Art  thou  afraid  of  the  Sillenen  ?  Does  Asper- 
ling  or  Henngarten  (signiors  of  the  country)  trouble  thee  ?" 
The  Mazza  remained  motionless  and  silent.  But  when 
they  named  the  captain-general  Baron,  it  made  a  low  affir- 
mative bow.  Thereon  they  removed  the  Mazza,  and  car- 
ried it  from  village  to  village,  through  all  the  Zehnten  of 
Valais,  and  it  was  proclaimed  that  the  Mazza  was  aggrieved 
by  the  captain-general  and  all  his  partisans,  and  by  the 
bishop  of  Sion,  his  nephew. 

When  the  baron  of  Raron  saw  the  excitement  of  the 
angry  people,  he  fled  into  Savoy,  and  implored  the  duke's 
assistance.  But  the  peasantry  destroyed  his  great  castle  on 
the  height  above  Sierre  (Siders),  and  the  bishop's  fort  above 


80  IttVASIOtf  OF  VALAIS. 

Leuk  in  Asche,  and  besieged  his  strong  castle  Beauregard, 
on  the  high  rock  over  Chippis.  They  ravaged  all  his  es* 
tates,  and  the  duke  of  Savoy  dared  not  assist  him. 

So  he  hastened  to  Berne,  where  he  was  a  citizen,  and 
asked  for  help  and  succor.  But  those  of  Valais  applied  to 
Uri  and  Unterwalden,  and,  as  free  peasants,  concluded  a 
mutually  defensive  alliance,  and  promised  to  aid  them  to 
retake  Ossola,  which  valley  borders  on  Valais»  Those  of 
Uri  and  Unterwalden  at  once  crossed  the  highest  Alps ; 
Schwyz,  Lucerne  and  Zurich  went  with  them  ;  the  Valais- 
ians  did  the  same,  and  the  whole  valley  of  Eschen  or  Os- 
sola was  reconquered. 

But  Berne  carried  the  case  of  the  baron  of  Raron  before 
all  the  Confederates,  and  demanded  justice.  Long  parley- 
ings  ensued.  Berne  wished  to  march  against  Valais,  and 
summoned  the  Confederates.  But  Unterwalden  and  Uri 
refused,  as  did  Lucerne.  A  war  between  the  Confederates 
themselves  was  imminent.  To  prevent  this,  the  neutral 
cantons  formed  a  diet  at  Zurich,  and,  after  having  heard 
those  who  were  for  and  against  Raron,  decided :  "  First  of 
all,  Valais  must  restore  to  the  baron  the  property  which 
has  been  taken  from  him;  then  he  shall  do  justice  to  the 
country  on  all  complaints." 

But  the  party-leaders  in  Valais  did  not  like  this  deci- 
sion, and  persuaded  the  people  to  an  obstinate  resistance. 
They  assembled  some  peasants,  entered  Oberhasli,  seized 
and  drove  away  the  flocks  of  sheep,  on  pretext  that  the 
baron  of  Raron  had  before,  with  men  of  the  Oberland,  in- 
vaded Valais  and  committed  ravages.  Immediately,  for 
the  security  of  her  passes,  Berne  sent  a  force  against  Va- 
lais. Schwyz  and  Zurich  tried  once  more  to  mediate.  But 
the  Valaisians  would  not  give  back,  and  preferred  war  to 
moderation. 

Then  the  Bernese,  joined  by  the  banners  of  Freiburg, 
Solothurn,  Neuchatel  and  others,  thirteen  thousand  strong, 
marched  over  the  highest  Alps  against  the  Zehnten  of 
Gombs,  and  over  mount  Sanetsch  against  Sierre  in  Valais. 
They  also  received  reinforcements  from  Schwyz,  but  neither 
Uri  nor  Unterwalden  sent  any  to  the  Valaisians,  on  ac- 
count of  the  obstinacy  of  the  latter.  Many  villages  fell 


-1426.]  THOMAS  BRANTSCHEN.  81 

in  flames.     Terror  spread  throughout  the  whole  of  Yalais. 

But  a  common  peasant,  Thomas  Brantschen,  restored 
courage  to  his  fellow-citizens  by  his  intrepidity,  and,  as  he 
saw  the  plundering  enemy  advancing  towards  the  village 
of  Ulrichen :  "  What,"  said  he,  "  has  become  of  Valais,  the 
ancient  hero-land?  Did  not  our  fathers  formerly  defeat 
the  duke  of  Zahringen  in  a  bloody  battle  near  Ulrichen  ? 
Let  us  once  again  conquer  here  for  the  fatherland  and  our 
ancient  liberty,  or  die  a  glorious  death." 

Thus  cried  he,  and,  with  four  hundred  valiant  Valais- 
ians,  rushed  from  an  ambush  upon  the  thousands  of  Con- 
federates, as  they  marched  without  mistrust.  Brantschen 
fought  like  a  hero.  Forty  Bernese  lay  dead  before  him ; 
then  he  also  fell,  the  lion  of  Valais.  Terror  was  in  the 
ranks  of  the  Bernese.  They  wavered.  Then  appeared 
the  array  of  Schwyz,  and  compelled  the  Valaisians  to  re- 
treat to  their  first  position.  No  one  pursued  them.  On 
the  next  day  the  Confederates  marched  out  of  Valais.  The 
Bernese  troops  from  Saanen  had  also  met  with  a  terrible 
resistance  from  the  Valaisians,  near  Sion. 

Fresh  propositions  of  peace  were  made.  Finally,  the 
Valaisians  unwillingly  consented  to  restore  his  signiories 
to  the  baron  of  Raron,  to  pay  him  ten  thousand  guilders 
(20,800  French  francs)  for  all  damages ;  the  same  sum  to 
Berne  for  the  expenses  of  the  war,  and  four  thousand  to 
the  chapter  of  Sion.  This  was  in  1420,  a  few  months  after 
the  heroic  action  of  Thomas  Brantschen.  But  the  baron 
of  Raron  died,  far  from  his  native  land.  The  splendor  of 
his  family  was  forever  tarnished,  because  he  had  not 
known  how  to  win  the  love  of  the  people. 

In  the  mean  while,  the  duke  of  Milan  had  not  forgotten 
the  valley  of  Ossola,  and  he  was  the  more  angry  when  he 
also  learned  that  the  Confederates  had  bought  from  the 
barons  of  Sax,  then  signiors  of  Bellinzona,  that  city  and 
all  the  district  which  extends  from  the  Leventina  to  Lago 
Maggiore,  for  twenty-four  hundred  guilders.  He  armed 
secretly,  and,  with  a  large  force,  invaded  Ossola  and  Bel- 
linzona. These,  as  well  as  Leventina,  were  compelled  to 
swear  fealty  to  him. 

Too  late  for  vengeance  rose  the  Confederates.    Since  the 
4* 


82  PETERMANtf  RYSIG,  [1419- 

conquest  of  Aargau  their  ancient  concord  had  no  longer 
prevailed  among  them.  This  delayed  them.  Discord  also 
tarnished  the  glory  of  a  bloodily- purchased  victory,  when 
they  passed  the  St.  Gotthard,  and  met  the  Milanese  forces 
in  the  plain  of  Arbedo,  not  far  from  Bellinzona.  There, 
from  morning  to  evening,  the  Confederates  had  to  contend 
against  Italian  skill  and  despair.  There  fell  many  valiant 
heroes  of  Switzerland :  John  Rot,  landammann  of  Uri ; 
Henry  Puntiner,  banneret  of  Uri;  and  old  Peter  Kolin, 
ammann  and  banneret  of  Zug.  Kolin  fell  dying  with  his 
banner  in  front  of  his  troop.  One  of  his  sons  drew  the 
banner  from  under  his  father's  body,  and  raised  it,  bloody, 
over  the  combatants.  Death  took  him  also,  but  the  enemy 
did  not  take  the  banner.  John  Land  wing  saved  it.  This 
was  on  the  30th  of  June,  1422. 

Saddened  by  so  many  deaths,  and  by  their  poor  victory, 
each  reproaching  the  others,  the  Confederates  marched 
back  over  the  St.  Gotthard.  They  left  only  a  garrison  in 
Leventina.  For  several  years  they  disputed  among  them- 
selves as  to  what  should  be  done,  adopted  half  measures 
with  half  minds,  and  accomplished  nothing  against 
Milan. 

This  disgusted  Petermann  Rysig,  a  stout-hearted  coun- 
tryman of  Schwyz.  He  assembled  five  hundred  cour- 
ageous men,  and  with  them  passed  the  St.  Gotthard,  then 
to  the  right  into  the  valley  of  Ossola  over  the  mountains, 
drove  out  the  Milanese  garrison,  and  kept  possession.  All 
the  forces  of  Milan  marched  against  the  valley.  But  Pe- 
termann Rysig  kept  possession.  Now  first  waked  the 
Confederates,  aroused  by  the  deed  of  the  few  Schwyzer 
heroes,  and  marched  towards  Ossola.  From  Solothurn, 
Valais,  Toggenburg  and  Rhetia  came  auxiliaries.  Thereat 
the  duke  of  Milan  was  discouraged;  but  what  he  could 
not  hope  to  gain  by  force  of  arms,  he  expected  to  accom- 
plish by  cunning. 

And  he  said  to  his  chamberlain  Zoppo :  "Go  with  my 
gold  to  the  Confederates,  and  negotiate  with  them."  Then 
came  lord  Zoppo,  cunning  as  a  fox  and  discreet,  talked  in 
a  friendly  manner  with  the  council-lords,  and  was  very 
liberal ;  divided  their  interests  from  each  other ;  first  per- 


-1426.]  THE   KOLINS.  83 

suaded  Uri,  Nidwalden  and  Lucerne  to  make  a  separate 
peace  for  themselves,  and  afterwards  gained  over  the 
others  by  secret  negotiations.  And,  in  the  year  1426,  the 
Confederates  gave  up  to  the  duke  of  Milan  the  valleys  of 
Ossola,  Bellinzona,  and  even  Leventina,  for  thirty-one 
thousand  and  some  hundreds  of  guilders,  and  for  certain 
franchises  and  toll-gratifications  in  favor  of  their  merchants 
and  petty  dealers.  The  Confederates  returned  home.  The 
heroic  action  of  Petermann  Rysig  was  made  of  no  avail ; 
in  vain  had  the  blood  of  the  noble  Kolins  dyed  their  ban- 
ner before  Arbedo.  Truly,  in  all  ancient  and  modern 
times,  no  powerful  enemy  has  been  so  formidable  to  the 
Swiss  as  a  lord  Zoppo. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

IN  THE  HIGHLANDS  OF  RHKTIA,  THE  UPPER  LEAGUE,  THE  GOD's- 
HOU8E  LEAGUE,  AND  THE  LEAGUE  OF  THE  TEN  JURISDICTIONS 
ARE  FORMED  IN  BEHALF  OF  LIBERTY. 

[A.  D.  1426  to  1436.] 

WHILE  the  Confederates  were  selling  for  money  what 
had  cost  them  the  blood  of  so  many  heroes,  a  far  different 
spirit  prevailed  in  the  elevated  valleys  of  the  Rhetian 
mountains:  the  spirit  of  liberty,  of  everlasting  justice  and 
concord. 

In  mountainous  Rhetia,  the  people,  from  the  old  Frank 
times,  had  been  tributary,  subjects  and  serfs  of  the  bishop 
of  Coire,  the  abbots  of  Disentis  and  Pfeffers,  and  other 
ecclesiastical  lords,  and  of  numberless  counts,  barons  and 
nobles.  The  city  of  Coire  had,  it  is  true,  many  franchises, 
but  she  also  endured  many  vexations  from  her  bishop. 
And  the  poor  people  in  the  villages  suffered  severely  in. 
the  wars  constantly  carried  on  by  the  many  great  or  small 
lords,  and  suffered  just  as  severely  in  peace  from  the  harsh- 
ness and  cruelty  of  their  masters.  Never  had  Uri,  Schwyz 
and  Unterwalden  worse  tyrants  than  had  Rhetia;  but 
Rhetia  had  also  her  Tells. 


84:  ADAM  THE  CAMOGASTER.  [l42«- 

When  the  despotism,  selfishness,  injustice  and  pride  of 
the  ruling  signiors  had  reached  their  height,  then  the  poor 
people  in  Rhetia  remembered  that  they  also  were  men, 
and,  moreover,  that  God  had  given  to  them,  as  his  chil- 
dren, rights  which  no  tyrant  should  violate.  And  the 
courage  of  a  few  honest  men,  in  separate  valleys,  awakened 
the  courage  of  the  whole  people  in  defence  of  their  ever- 
lasting rights. 

In  the  high  verdant  valley  of  Engadine,  from  the  gla- 
ciers of  which  the  Inn  rushes  forth  towards  Tyrol,  stood 
the  castle  of  Gardoval,  the  terror  of  the  country,  on  the 
rocks  above  the  village  of  Madulein.  There  dwelt  the 
bailiff  of  the  convent  of  Coire,  a  cruel  and  arbitrary  man, 
who  governed  and  judged  in  the  name  of  the  bishop  of 
Upper  Engadine.  He  saw  the  beauty  of  a  young  girl  in 
the  village  of  Camogast,  which  lay  across  the  Inn,  on  the 
mountain,  sheltered  by  the  forest  And  he  sent  his  ser- 
vants to  bring  the  young  girl  to  him  that  same  day.  The 
maiden's  father,  whose  name  was  Adam,  was  filled  with 
terror,  his  daughter  with  despair.  But  Adam  mustered 
courage,  and  said  to  the  servants:  "Tell  your  lord  that  I 
will  bring  my  child  to  hirn  at  the  castle  to-morrow  morn- 
ing." 

As  soon  as  they  were  gone,  the  father  hastened  to  his 
neighbors  and  friends,  with  rage  in  his  soul,  fire  in  his 
eyes.  He  told  them  what  had  happened,  and  cried: 
"  Have  we,  men,  become  the  cattle  of  this  lord  ?"  Indig- 
nation was  aroused  in  every  breast,  and,  in  the  darkness 
of  the  night,  they  swore  to  put  an  end  to  the  misery  of 
the  valley,  or  to  perish  together. 

But,  in  the  early  morning,  Adam  the  Gamogaster  led 

his  beautiful  daughter,  in  her  holiday  dress,  as  a  bride,  to 

Gardovall.     Some  of  the  conspirators  followed,  as  a  train 

of  honor;  others  had  placed  themselves  in  ambush,  near 

t  the   castle,  awaiting  the   moment  for   action :    all   were 

I  armed. 

When  the  castellan  saw  the  maiden,  he  sprang  hastily 
down  the  castle-steps,  to  embrace  the  innocent  girl  before 
her  father's  eyes.  Then  Adam  of  Camogast  drew  his 
sword,  and  plunged  it  into  the  heart  of  the  tyrant.  He 


-I486.]  JOHN  CHALDAR.  85 

and  his  friends  rushed  into  the  castle,  slew  the  servants, 
gave  the  signal  of  liberty  from  the  windows,  and  were 
joined  by  those  in  ambush.  Gardovall  was  burned.  Af- 
terwards (1494)  the  district  below  the  sources  of  the  Inn 
loyally  bought  itself  free  from  the  sovereignty  of  the  con- 
vent. 

The  fertile  pasture-valley  of  Schams,  smiling  pleasantly 
among  the  high  Alps,  and  formerly  subject  to  the  counts 
of  Werdenberg,  was  governed  by  the  bailiffs  of  the  bish- 
opric of  Coire,  dwelling  in  the  castles  of  Barenberg  and 
Fardun.  They  practised  every  thing  against  the  people, 
even  the  most  humiliating  outrages ;  and  the  people  suf- 
fered and  were  silent.  Strong  John  Chaldar  suffered  also, 
but  was  not  silent.  When  two  horses  of  the  lord  of  Far- 
dun  were  turned  into  his  wheat,  he  was  angered,  and  killed 
them  on  the  spot.  He  expiated  this  deed  in  bonds  and 
chains,  until  his  family  were  able  to  free  him  by  the  pay- 
ment of  large  sums  and  by  many  tears. 

After  Chaldar  had  returned  rejoicing  to  his  family  and 
was  seated  with  them  at  dinner  in  his  cabin,  the  lord  of 
Fardun  entered.  All  saluted  him  respectfully,  but  he 
looked  contemptuously  at  them,  and  spat  into  their  broth. 
Then  Chaldar's  anger  blazed  like  lightning;  grasping  the 
tyrant  by  neck  and  throat :  "  Now  eat  the  soup  which  thou 
hast  seasoned!"  cried  he ;  plunged  the  head  of  the  wretched 
man  into  the  contaminated  food,  and  strangled  him.  Then 
he  rushed  out  from  his  cabin,  and  roused  the  people.  Far- 
dun  and  Barenburg  crumbled  in  blood  and  flames.  The 
bishop  was  compelled  to  surrender  to  the  valley  his  rights 
over  it,  for  a  compensation  of  thirty-two  hundred  guilders 
(1458). 

As,  in  these  valleys,  the  signiors  advanced  the  cause  of 
liberty  by  their  inhumanity  and  tyranny,  so,  in  other  dis- 
tricts of  E-hetia,  they  helped  it  by  their  ambition.  Bishop 
Hartmann  of  Coire  was  constantly  at  war  with  the  nobles 
of  the  land.  Having  suffered  much  damage,  and  not  being 
himself  able  to  defend  the  numerous  domains  of  his  bish- 
opric, scattered  as  they  were  throughout  an  enemy's  coun- 
try, he  granted  to  his  subject-districts  the  right  to  form 
defensive  alliances  with  the  neighboring  valleys  and  dis- 


86  EARLY  ALLIANCES.  [1426- 

tricts.  Thus  (as  early  as  1396)  the  God's-house  people* 
of  the  valleys  of  Domleschg,  Avers,  Oberhalbstein  and 
Bergun  had  made  a  league  with  the  lords  of  Werdenberg 
in  Schams,  Domleschg  and  Obervatz.  This  was  the  first 
foundation  of  the  subsequent  God's-house  league. 

The  counts  and  lords  of  the  Rhetian  highlands  had  done 
the  same,  and  in  union  with  the  people  of  the  valleys,  al- 
ready leagued  together,  had  concluded  with  their  neigh- 
bors of  Glarus  (in  1400)  a  perpetual  defensive  alliance 
against  the  offensive  pretensions  of  the  bishop  of  Coire. 

But,  in  these  alliances  of  the  valleys,  the  rights,  great 
and  small,  of  their  various  lords  were  always  reserved ; 
and  these  rights  were  much  abused.  The  lords  knew  no 
law  but  their  own  will  and  power.  There  was  neither 
justice  in  the  courts  nor  safety  on  the  highways. 

Desiring  to  put  an  end  to  these  disorders,  without  vio- 
lence and  without  revolt,  several  loyal,  respected  and  in- 
trepid peasants  formed  an  association  in  Upper  Rhetia. 
They  met  every  night  between  the  abbey  of  Disentis  and 
the  little  city  of  Ilanz,  the  first  walled  place  on  the  Rhine. 
There,  in  a  wood  near  the  village  of  Truns,  they  met  and 
conversed  together;  and  afterwards  communicated  their 
resolves,  in  confidence,  to  the  most  estimable  men  of  their 
respective  communes. 

Then,  on  one  and  the  same  day,  all  the  communes  and 
valleys  of  Upper  Rhetia  sent  their  most  respected  and  best- 
informed  men  as  deputies  to  their  several  signiors,  to  de- 
mand that  justice  and  security  should  be  guaranteed  to  all 
by  a  solemn  agreement  to  which  all  should  make  oath, 
without  injury  to  the  real  rights  of  the  greatest  or  the 
least. 

The  signiors  were  terrified  by  this  demand  issuing  from 
the  forest  of  Truns,  and  they  thought  of  what  had  taken 
place  in  the  Swiss  Confederacy  one  hundred  years  before. 
The  pious  and  prudent  abbot  of  Disentis,  lord  Peter  of 
Pultinga,  was  the  first  who  assented  to  the  just  require- 
ments of  the  people.  The  counts  of  Werdenberg,  of  Sax, 

*  Subjects  of  the  Convent  or  God's-house,  as  all  religious  establishments 
were  called ;  or  Casa  Dei,  whence  Caddean,  the  name  sometimes  given  to 

these  Rhetians. 


-1436.]  THE  MAPLE-TREE   OF  TRUNS.  87 

the  barons  of  Rhezuns,  and  others,  followed  ;  either  from 
fear  of  their  own  subjects,  or  from  fear  of  the  powerful 
bishop  of  Coire,  and  to  strengthen  themselves  against  the 
latter. 

Then  these  lords,  and  the  deputies  of  the  communes  of 
Upper  Rhetia  in  their  modest  grey  frocks,  met  in  front  of 
the  village  of  Truns,  in  the  open  air,  under  the  shade  of  a 
maple-tree,  and  swore  by  the  holy  Trinity  to  a  perpetual 
covenant  for  the  maintenance  of  justice  and  security,  with- 
out injury  to  the  rights  of  the  greatest  or  the  least.  This 
was  in  May,  1424.  Thus  was  formed  the  Upper  or  Grey 
league  (so  called  from  the  grey  frocks  of  the  deputies). 
Afterwards  it  was  completed  by  the  accession  of  the  val- 
leys of  Misox  and  Calanca.  Soon  the  name  of  Grisons 
(Graubundner :  Grey-leaguers)  spread  over  the  whole  of 
Rhetia,  although  the  God's  house  league  already  existed 
separately,  and  although,  moreover,  there  were  numerous 
districts  in  the  mountains,  on  the  side  of  Tyrol,  which  be- 
longed, neither  to  the  God's- house  nor  to  the  Grey  league, 
but  to  the  extensive  sovereignty  of  the  rich  count,  Frederic 
of  Toggenburg. 

But,  shortly  afterwards,  this  rich  count  died  childless, 
arid  there  was  great  fear  of  a  war  for  the  inheritance.  Then 
assembled  the  people  of  the  districts,  villages  and  juris- 
dictions which  belonged  to  the  house  of  Toggenburg,  in 
Rhetia.  They  carne  from  Davos  and  Klosters,  Kastels, 
jSchiersch  and  Seewis,  even  from  the  prebendary's  juris- 
diction of  Schiersch,  from  Malans,  Maienfeld,  Belfort, 
Churwalden,  Outer  and  Inner  Schalfick.  They  said: 
"  Since  we  are  left  free  by  the  death  of  the  count  of  Tog- 
genburg, let  us,  like  the  people  of  God's-house  and  the 
Highlands,  make,  in  these  mountains,  a  league  which  shall 
endure  forever:  for  the  injury  of  no  one,  but  for  the  pro- 
tection of  our  hereditary  rights ;  for  union  in  danger  and 
in  death.  No  one  shall  cite  another  before  a  foreign  tri- 
bunal, nor  make  alliance  with  others,  but  by  consent  of 
all.  When  the  estate  of  Toggenburg  shall  be  settled,  we 
will  surrender  his  property  to  the  recognized  heir,  but 
even  he  shall  not  be  able  to  dissolve  our  league.  So  said 
they  and  solemnly  swore  on  the  Friday  after  Corpus- 


88  THE  RHETTANS  CALLED  ORISONS.  [1436- 

Christi  day  in  1436.     This  was  the  origin  of  the  League 
of  the  Ten  Jurisdictions. 

A  new  Confederacy  was  also  formed  between  the  three 
leagues  of  the  Rhetian  Alps.  And  the  Rhetians  from  that 
time  were  called  Grisons. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

QUARREL    RESPECTING    THE    TOGGENBURG-INHERITANCE. 
[A.  D.  1436  to  144-3.] 

VERY  different  effects  did  the  death  of  the  rich  count  of 
Toggenburg  produce-  among  the  Swiss :  here  it  enkindled 
the  destructive  flames  of  civil  war. 

As  soon  as  Frederic  of  Toggenburg  closed  his  eyes  in 
advanced  old  age,  numerous  heirs  presented  themselves. 
His  domains  were  large ;  many  lay  beyond  the  Rhine ; 
many  along  the  Appenzeller  mountains  from  the  lake  of 
Zurich  as  far  as  Tyrol.  Among  them  were  the  Toggen- 
burger-land,  the  signiory  of  Uznach,  the  March,  Windegg 
in  Gaster,  the  Rheinthal  and  the  Ten  Jurisdictions  in  the 
Grison  country.  There  were  others  also  in  Thurgau  and 
elsewhere.  Madam  Elizabeth,  widow  of  the  deceased, 
thought  herself  the  rightful  heiress  ;  but  some  distant  rela- 
tives of  her  husband  disputed  her  right,  and  advanced 
their  own  claims.  Zurich,  also,  believed  herself  to  have 
some  rights  over  this  inheritance,  because  the  count,  who 
died  childless,  had  been  her  citizen  and  co-burgher  ; 
Schwyz  made  the  same  claim,  because  the  count  had  been 
co-burgher  with  that  canton  likewise. 

Madam  Elizabeth,  to  secure  a  powerful  protector,  united 
with  the  city  of  Zurich,  and  made  to  the  latter,  under  hand 
and  seal,  a  donation  in  form  of  Uznach,  the  Uznach  moun- 
tain and  Schmerikon.  The  Schwyzers  thereupon  requested 
the  count's  relatives  to  forbid  his  widow  to  alienate  any 
portion  of  the  estate.  Then  those  of  the  count's  subjects 
who  inhabited  Lichtensteig,  Neckarthal,  Thurthal,  St. 
Johannserthal,  Uznach  and  the  lower  part  of  the  lake  of 


-1443.]  ZURICH  AND   SCHWYZ.  89 

Wallenstatt,  came  and  said  to  Schwyz:  "Our  late  lord, 
always  thoughtful  of  our  happiness  during  his  life,  wished 
that,  after  his  death,  we  might  find  protection  and  security 
with  you.  Receive  therefore  our  oath,  and  number  us 
henceforward  forever  among  your  people."  And  the  peo- 
ple of  the  country  of  Sargaus,  which  the  count  of  Toggen- 
burg  had  only  held  on  mortgage,  requested  duke  Frederic 
of  Austria  to  ransom  them,  as  his  faithful  subjects.  He 
did  so.  But,  perceiving  that  their  intentions  were  not 
loyal,  he  gave  them  up  to  count  Henry  of  Werdenberg. 

When  Zurich  learned  that  the  people  in  Uznach  and 
other  places  had  sworn  allegiance  to  Schwyz,  the  city  was 
angry  and  made  many  threats,  because  Uznach  was  her 
domain.  But  the  Schwyzers  at  once  sent  troops  into  the 
March  and  to  Uznach,  to  protect  their  new  people  by 
force,  denied  the  right  of  the  Zurichers,  and  associated 
Glarus  in  the  sovereignty  over  the  new  territory,  that  they 
might  have  her  support  in  case  of  need. 

Since  the  rulers  in  the  cities  and  cantons  of  Switzerland 
had  conquered  Aargau  and  established  the  common  baili- 
wicks, they  had  become  haughty ;  they  indeed  wished  to 
enjoy  liberty  themselves,  but  not  to  confer  it  on  others; 
they  preferred  subjects  rather  than  free  fellow-citizens, 
their  equals  in  rights.  As  formerly  they  had  been  unwill- 
ing to  admit  Aargau  to  a  free  participation  in  their  confed- 
erate bond,  so  now.  their  intentions  were  no  better  respect- 
ing Toggenburg.  They  wished  to  be  lords ;  they  wished 
to  have  serfs. 

Hence  much  discord,  hatred  and  contention.  A  great 
Diet,  assembled  at  Zurich,  in  vain  attempted  to  restore  con- 
cord. The  deputies  departed  more  embittered  than  they 
had  come.  Then,  at  the  head  of  Zurich  was  the  burgo- 
master Rudolf  Stussi,  and  at  the  head  of  Schwyz  the  lan- 
dammann  Itel  Reding  of  Bieberegg.  Both  ambitious, 
enterprising,  talented  and  eloquent  men ;  but  they  hated 
each  other,  and  each  was  zealous  for  his  own  canton,  in- 
different to  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  common  Con- 
federacy. 

Then  for  the  first  time  was  seen  what  an  abyss  of  misery 
is  opened  by  cantonal  egotism  and  selfishness,  when  the 

H* 


90  RUDOLF  STUSSI.  [1436- 

interests  of  one  canton  are  preferred  to  those  of  the  whole 
Confederacy.  During  the  great  famine  of  1489,  occasioned 
by  continual  rains  which  destroyed  the  crops  in  the  ground, 
it  had  already  become  evident  that  the  ancient  beautiful 
union  no  longer  existed.  One  canton  meanly  prohibited 
the  exportation  of  provisions  into  the  others,  so  that  the 
sufferings  of  all  were  increased,  and  with  them  the  hatred. 
Schwyz  and  Zurich  then  threatened  each  other  with  the 
sword. 

To  prevent  greater  misfortunes,  the  Confederates  arbi- 
trated at  Berne.  Schwyz  assented  to  their  decision,  but 
Zurich  would  not  listen  to  it.  The  latter  called  the  Con- 
federates partial,  because  they  left  Uznach  to  the  Schwyzers, 
although  the  countess  Elizabeth  had  deeded  it  to  Zurich ; 
and  moreover,  no  mention  was  made  of  Gaster  and  Win- 
degg,  although  Schwyz  had  taken  possession  of  these  dis- 
tricts before  the  decision,  and  in  spite  of  the  protest  of  the 
Confederates. 

Burgomaster  Stussi  said,  "  Then  the  sword  must  decide." 
But  he  first  sent  to  the  Schwyzers  an  open  letter,  in  which 
he  no  longer  styled  them  Confederates.  And  he  proposed 
to  them  an  appeal  to  the  tribunal  of  the  Koman  king,  as 
head  of  the  German  empire,  from  which  they  both  held. 
The  Schwyzers  replied,  "  The  king's  tribunal  may  be  ex- 
cellent, but  it  is  not  that  we  swore  to  be  ruled  by  in  our 
perpetual  bond  as  Confederates." 

Thereat  the  Zurichers  and  Schwyzers  marched  with  their 
troops  against  each  other  on  Mount  Ezel.  The  Schwyzers 
took  post  above,  the  Zurichers  below,  near  Pfeffikon.  Stussi 
himself  went  against  the  March,  but  found  those  of  Glarus 
and  Schwyz  so  well  entrenched  and  fortified  that  he  with- 
drew without  undertaking  anything.  Envoys  from  Uri 
and  Unterwalden  came  to  Itel  Keding  on  the  Ezel.  They 
besought  him,  in  the  name  of  God  and  the  fatherland, 
again  to  attempt  a  reconciliation,  in  order  to  prevent  that 
unheard-of  crime — the  shedding  of  Confederate  blood  by 
Confederate  hands.  But  at  this  moment  blood  had  already 
been  shed.  For  a  troop  of  Zurichers  advanced  as  far  as 
the  first  posts  of  the  Schwyzers.  Many  were  wounded; 
eleven  Zurichers  slain  ;  the  rest  fled. 


-1448.]  LEVENTINA  RETAKEN.  91 

The  Confederates,  however,  once  more  obtained  a  truce 
and  fresh  negotiations.  But  nothing  could  be  accomplished, 
because  Zurich  persisted  in  preferring  the  arbitration  of  the 
Roman  king  to  that  of  the  Confederates.  Then  all  the 
Confederates  became  embittered  against  Zurich.  Zurich 
armed,  and  Stussi  marched  with  more  than  six  thousand 
men  towards  Mount  Ezel,  where  Schwyz  and  Glarus 
awaited  him  in  warlike  array ;  some  soldiers  from  Uri  and 
Unterwalden  had  also  joined  the  latter. 

But  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  a  strange,  unaccountable 
terror  suddenly  seized  upon  the  Zurichers  posted  near 
Pfeffikon.  In  their  fright,  they  hastily  embarked  in  fifty- 
two  bateaux,  and  fled  through  the  darkness  to  Zurich.  The 
Schwyzers  stationed  on  the  upper  part  of  the  Ezel  imme- 
diately marched  down,  overpowered  and  occupied  the  coun- 
try on  the  lake,  and  persuaded  all  the  Confederates  to  ad- 
vance against  Zurich. 

Fear  and  disorder  prevailed  in  the  city,  when  she  saw 
herself  deprived  of  all  assistance ;  she  negotiated  anew  and 
submitted  to  the  arbitration  of  the  Confederates.  Not  only 
was  Zurich  compelled  to  give  up  all  claim  upon  Toggen- 
burg,  but,  also,  to  reimburse  Schwyz  and  Glarus,  by  sur- 
rendering all  property  and  rights  over  land  and  people  in 
Pfeffikon,  Wollrau,  BLurden,  and  other  places.  Thus  one 
canton  made  conquests  from  another.  In  the  same  year, 
(1440),  Schwyz,  in  a  more  honorable  manner,  acquired  the 
village  of  Merlischachen  from  the  wealthy  lords  of  Moss, 
and  Uri  found  opportunity  to  recover  the  lost  valley  of 
Leventina,  It  happened  in  this  wise :  Either  at  Airolo  or 
at  Bellinzona,  the  justice  stipulated  by  treaty  was  refused 
to  some  men  of  Uri.  Angered  thereby,  the  banners  of 
Uri,  as  they  returned  from  mount  Ezel,  marched  straight 
over  the  St.  Gotthard  and  took  possession  of  Leventina  and 
Bellinzona  without  opposition.  The  old  duke  of  Milan, 
unprepared  for  war,  was  obliged  to  purchase  peace  dearly 
by  giving  up  Leventina  to  Uri. 

\In  the  mean  while,  duke  Frederic  of  Austria,  a  grand- 
son of  that  Leopold  who  fell  near  Sempach,  had  become 
emperor.  He  had  openly  said  that  he  meant  to  take  back 
from  the  Swiss  all  the  property  of  his  ancestors.  With  this 


92  ZURICH  BREAKS  THE   BOND.  [1436- 

object  he  constantly  sounded  the  disposition  of  the  people, 
the  nobility  and  the  cities  of  Aargau. 

This  pleased  burgomaster  Stussi  and  the  council  of  Zu- 
rich, wno  were  irritated  against  the  Confederates.  If  Zu- 
rich, the  vorort  of  the  Swiss  Confederacy,  had  magnani- 
mously forgotten  her  own  causes  of  resentment,  and,  in  a 
noble  spirit,  warned  her  Confederates  of  the  hostile  designs 
of  Austria,  with  what  resplendent  honor  would  her  virtue 
have  shone  before  all  the  Confederates  and  their  descend- 
ants !  But  Zurich  listened  only  to  vengeance,  felt  only  her 
injuries,  joined  the  emperor,  secretly  concluded  a  criminal 
alliance,  and  forgot  the  Confederates.  Great  souls  were 
wanting.  This  shameful  treaty  was  made  in  1442. 

As  soon  as  this  became  known,  all  the  Confederates  cried 
out  against  the  vorort ;  she  had  broken  the  perpetual  bond. 
They  assembled  in  diet,  and  summoned  Zurich  to  abandon 
her  alliance  with  Austria.  Numerous  useless  parleyings 
took  place.  Zurich  would  not  separate  from  the  emperor. 
The  latter  sent  his  captain,  Thuringof  Hallwyl,  to  the  city, 
which  solemnly  took>  upon  his  hand,  the  oath  to  the  em- 
pire, and  swore  to  advance  the  emperor's  interests,  and  to 
avenge  any  injury  done  to  him.  At  the  captain's  request, 
the  Zurichers  even  removed  the  white  crosses,  distinctive 
marks  of  the  Confederates  in  all  their  former  wars,  and 
placed  in  their  hats  the  red  crosses  which  the  Austrians 
wore.  Others  assumed  the  imperial  eagle  and  the  Austrian 
peacock's  feather. 

This  greatly  exasperated  the  Confederates ;  the  breasts 
of  all  the  peeple  were  inflamed  with  anger.  Insults,  tres- 
passes, assassinations  and  incendiarisms  prevailed  every- 
where. Finally,  all  the  Confederates  declared  war  against 
Zurich. 


-1443.]  BLOOD  AND  FLAMES.  93 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

WAR    OF   ALL    THE    CONFEDERATES    AGAINST   ZURICH.       THE    HEROES- 
DEATH    NEAR    ST.  JACQUES.       PEACE. 

[A.  D.  1443  to  1450.] 

THIS  declaration  of  war  by  the  Confederates  did  not 
terrify  Zurich :  she  counted  on  the  emperor's  powerful  assist- 
ance. Already,  in  fact,  on  summons  of  the  emperor,  be- 
sides Thuring  of  Hallwyl,  many  other  knights  and  warriors, 
and  even  William,  margrave  of  Baden,  had  hastened  to  the 
city's  aid.  More  than  five  thousand  Austrians  were  there. 

Now  began  the  war  of  Swiss  against  Swiss.  Near  Pfef- 
fikon  and  Freienbach  on  the  lake  of  Zurich,  the  Schwyzers 
fought  against  double  their  number  of  Zurichers ;  as  did 
Lucerne,  Uri  and  Unterwalden,  on  the  heights  of  Hirzel. 
against  the  Zurichers  in  the  fortifications  on  the  mountain. 
The  fortifications  were  stormed  and  destroyed;  this  cost 
much  noble  blood.  I  cannot  enumerate  the  villages  re- 
duced to  ashes  on  the  lake,  in  the  territories  of  Zug  and 
Schwyz,  and  in  the  free  bailiwicks.  Every  day  blood  red- 
dened the  earth  ;  every  night  flames  reddened  the  sky.  In 
vain  did  the  courageous  city  of  Bremgarten  defend  herself, 
in  behalf  of  Zurich's  share  in  her  government.  The  fate 
of  Bremgarten  terrified  Baden,  which  had  preferred  to  re- 
main neutral.  She  opened  her  gates  to  the  Confederates. 
Neither  the  town  of  Rumlang  nor  the  strong  castles  of 
Gruningen  and  Regensberg  could  withstand  the  courage 
of  the  Confederates. 

Finally,  the  latter,  Schwyz,  Uri,  Unterwalden,  Glarus, 
Zug  and  Lucerne,  about  five  thousand  strong,  crossed  the 
Albis,  Itel  Reding  with  them,  against  the  city  of  Zurich 
itself.  And  the  citizens  and  Austrians,  on  foot  and  on 
horseback,  burgomaster  Stussi  with  them,  hastened  to  meet 
the  invaders :  all  hurried  across  the  Sihl.  In  the  mead- 
ows between  the  village  of  Weidikon  and  the  ancient 
chapel  of  St.  James,  against  each  other  rushed  the  blood- 
thirsty bauds,  thousands  against  thousands,  on  the  22d 


94  BAEBARITY  OP  REDING  [1448- 

July,  1443.  The  shock  and  conflict  were  frightful.  Terror 
seized  upon  the  Zurichers,  who  fought  without  order,  as 
they  had  come  forth  without  order.  Now  they  fled  in 
confusion  over  the  bridge  of  the  Sihl.  There,  burgomas- 
ter Stussi,  venerable  in  his  white  hair  and  his  heroism, 
stopped  in  the  middle  of  the  bridge,  brandished  his  broad 
battle-axe  and  shouted:  "Halt,  citizens,  halt!"  But  a 
man  of  Zurich  cried :  "  May  God's  lightning  blast  thee ! 
All  this  evil  comes  from  thee  alone,"  and  ran  him  through 
with  his  lance.  The  burgomaster's  armor  clattered  as  he 
fell.  Over  his  dead  body  enemies  and  friends  rushed  into 
the  suburb.  The  citizens  closed  the  inner  gates  ;  all  out- 
side was  pillaged  by  the  conquerors.  The  latter  hacked 
into  pieces  the  corpse  of  Stussi,  tore  his  heart  with  their 
teeth,  greased  their  boots  and  shoes  with  the  fat  of  his 
body,  and  threw  his  mutilated  remains  into  the  Sihl. 
Houses  and  villages  burned  around.  'The  flames  furnished 
light,  while  the  conquerors  sat  on  the  bodies  of  their  slain 
enemies,  and  caroused  together. 

Then  the  Confederates  besieged  Rapperswyl,  the  fortress 
of  which  was  occupied  by  Austrians ;  the  Bernese  did  the 
same  with  Laufenberg.  Both  places  held  strong.  But 
the  fortress  of  Greifensee  was  obliged  to  yield  when  as- 
saulted. Hans  of  Breitenlandenberg,  surnamed  the  Sav- 
age, had  defended  it  valiantly  with  a  few  men  for  twenty- 
six  days.  It  cost  Itel  Eeding  and  his  Confederates  dear. 
Therefore  they  were  so  exasperated  that  they  demanded 
the  death  of  the  Savage  and  his  heroes,  when  they  yielded 
at  discretion.  "All,  all  must  die,"  shouted  the  raging  sol- 
diery, "and  the  men  of  Griefensee  also."  Captain  Holzach, 
of  Menzingen  on  the  Zug  mountain,  cried  out :  "  Confede- 
rates, fear  God !  Spare  innocent  blood !  Stain  not  the 
honor  of  the  Confederacy !"  But  Itel  Reding,  the  latidam- 
mann,  said:  "This  man  has  Austrian  sympathies.  They 
must  all  die,  excepting  the  people  of  Griefensee."  The 
sanguinary  hordes  howled  approval.  In  vain  did  old  men 
and  young,  fathers  and  mothers,  implore  pity.  Reding 
gave  the  signal ;  the  circle  was  closed.  The  executioner 
of  Berne  entered  it  with  his  sword.  The  Savage  died 
courageously.  After  his,  fell  many  other  heads.  The  ex- 


-H50.]  AND  SIS  CONFEDERATES.  95 

ecutioner  stopped  and  looked  at  Itel  Reding,  as  if  to  ask 
for  mercy  on  the  rest.  Then  Reding  was  exasperated,  and 
said  :  "  Quick  !  To  thy  work !  If  thou  dost  not  thy  duty, 
another  shall  do  it  on  thee !"  Then  fell  the  heads  of  Felix 
Ott,  of  Hans  Escher  of  Zurich,  and  others.  "When  the  fif- 
tieth fell,  it  was  already  night.  Itel  Reding  caused  straw 
to  be  brought  and  kindled.  When  the  sixtieth. was  dead, 
Reding  withdrew  from  the  shuddering  crowd. 

After  this,  the  Confederates  returned  against  Zurich  with 
twenty  thousand  men,  and  besieged  the  city  for  sixty  days 
in  the  summer  of  1444.  The  Zurichers  made  a  valiant  re- 
sistance. Sixteen  of  them,  who  called  themselves  the 
Bucks,  formed  a  military  association,  and  did  much  dam- 
age to  the  Confederates  by  a  partisan  warfare. 

The  Austrian  nobility  of  Aargau  were  also  active  in  be- 
half of  Zurich.  Thomas  of  Falkenstein,  landgrave  in 
Buchsgau  and  Sisgau,  in  order  to  injure  the  Bernese,  sent 
two  of  his  people  to  set  fire  to  the  city  of  Aarau  in  the 
night.  When  this  had  failed,  he  rode  with  the  lords  of 
Baldegg  through  the  city  of  Brugg,  and  said  :  "We  have 
come  from  the  camp  of  Zurich,  and  are  going  to  Bale  to 
request  the  assistance  of  the  lord-bishop  in  restoring  peace." 
On  the  second  night  afterwards,  he  reappeared  at  the  city- 
gates  and  said :  "  We  bring  peace.  Here  is  the  lord  of 
Bale.  Open  to  us."  And  he  showed  two  of  his  servants 
in  the  colors  of  Bale,  at  his  side.  When  the  watchmen, 
deceived,  opened  the  city-gates,  Falkenstein  entered  with 
four  hundred  horsemen,  plundered  the  city,  seized  and  im- 
prisoned the  avoyer  Effinger,  the  lords  of  the  council 
and  the  principal  citizens.  He  meant  to  have  them  all 
beheaded  at  break  of  day.  But  the  news  of  his  deed  had 
already  spread  through  the  country.  The  peasants  rose 
on  all  sides.  Falkenstein  set  fire  to  the  city  and  carried 
off  the  prisoners.  They  were  to  be  beheaded  in  the  oak- 
forest  not  far  from  Brugg.  But  when  John  of  Rechberg, 
one  of  his  accomplices,  begged  for  their  lives,  the  prisoners 
were  taken  to  Laufenberg  and  secretly  confined  in  the 
tower  on  the  rock  over  the  river,  so  that  no  one  knew 
where  they  where.  But  Burgi  Kuffier  let  himself  down 
from  the  "tower  by  a  rope  of  bed-clothes,  leaped  into  the 


96  LOUIS  THE  DAUPHIN.  [1443- 

whirlpool  of  the  Rhine,  escaped  and  made  all  known.  Then 
the  wives  of  Brugg  ransomed  their  husbands  from  the  en- 
emy's power  with  much  gold.  The  Solothurners  and  Ber- 
nese, in  revenge,  destroyed  Falkenstein's  castle  of  Gosgen ; 
they  burnt  Farnsburg  also  and  other  places. 

In  the  mean  while,  Zurich,  besieged,  was  in  distress. 
The  emperor,  engaged  in  a  distant  war,  could  not  help 
her.  He  called  on  the  king  of  France  for  assistance  against 
the  Swiss.  The  king  of  France,  at  this  time,  had  his  land 
full  of  disorderly  foreign  troops ;  among  them  were  many 
English  and  other  people,  who  had  fought  against  him 
under  the  count  of  Armagnac,  until  they  were  conquered. 
The  king  collected  all  these,  gave  them  leaders,  and,  under 
the  command  of  his  own  heir,  the  dauphin  Louis,  sent 
thirty  thousand  Armagnacs  against  the  Confederates,  to 
the  aid  of  Zurich.  They  marched  to  the  neighborhood  of 
Bale,  where  the  Solothurners,  with  troops  from  Berne, 
Lucerne  and  Bale,  were  besieging  the  high N  fortress  of 
Farnsburg.  These  immediately  sent  messengers  to  the 
camp  before  Zurich,  asking  for  assistance  from  the  Confed- 
erates, because  the  Armagnacs  were  so  numerous.  "They 
are  only  miserable  wretches !"  said  those  before  Zurich,  and 
contented  themselves  with  sending  six  hundred  men  to  re- 
inforce the  besiegers  of  Farnsburg. 

As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  the  foreign  enemy  was  al- 
ready encamped  in  the  fields  near  Munchenstein.  not  far 
from  Bale,  nine  hundred  of  those  before  Farnsburg  and 
the  newly-arrived  six  hundred  marched  towards  them. 
On  the  26th  of  August,  1444,  in  the  early  morning,  they 
found  several  thousand  Armagnacs  before  the  village  of 
Prattelen,  drove  them,  in  a  bloody  fight,  back  into  their 
entrenchments  near  Muttenz,  and  out  of  their  entrench- 
ments into  the  waves  of  the  neighboring  Birs. 

From  the  towers  of  their  city,  the  burghers  of  Bale  saw 
the  little  troop  of  Swiss  advance  against  the  superior  forces 
of  the  enemy.  Three  thousand  Balese  came  out  to  per- 
suade the  Swiss  to  take  refuge  in  the  city ;  but  they  could 
not  succeed.  The  Confederates  crossed  the  Birs  by  swim- 
ming, and  reached  the  opposite  bank  in  spite  of  the  terri- 
ble discharges  of»  the  enemy,  whose  whole  force  was  there 


-1450.]  ARNOLD  SCHIK.  97 

drawn  up.  Like  destroying  angels  they  penetrated  those 
numberless  hordes.  They  were  soon  separated,  but  still 
fought,  five  hundred  in  an  open  plain,  the  rest  behind  the 
garden-wall  of  the  hospital  near  St.  Jacques.  Terribly, 
like  lions,  fought  those  of  the  plain,  until,  man  by  man, 
they  fell  dead  upon  the  dead  bodies  of  numerous  enemies ; 
terribly,  like  lions,  fought  those  behind  the  wall ;  thrice 
they  repelled  the  assault;  twice  they  themselves  made  the 
attack;  the  wall  fell,  hospital  and  chapel  were  burned. 
All  the  Confederates  here  died  heroically.  Ninety  and 
nine  were  found  suffocated  in  the  cellar  vaults.  But  thou- 
sands and  thousands  of  the  enemy,  with  their  horses,  cov- 
ered the  ground  from  Prattelen  to  St.  Jacques. 

When,  at  the  end  of  this  ten  hours'  battle,  knight  Burk- 
hard  Munch,  lord  of  Auenstein  and  Landskrone,  an  enemy 
of  the  Confederates,  with  other  knights,  rode  over  the  bat- 
tle-field and  over  the  bodies  of  the  Swiss,  he  said,  joyfully: 
"  Now  I  am  bathing  in  roses."  Then  cried  captain  Arnold 
Schik  of  Uri,  rising  from  under  the  dead :  "  Swallow  this 
rose!"  and  shattered  Burkhard's  forehead  with  a  deadly 
stone. 

Fifteen  hundred  Confederates  fell  with  immortal  glory 
at  St.  Jacques.  Only  ten  men  saved  their  lives  by  flight. 
They  were  despised  and  proscribed  throughout  all  Switzer- 
land, because  they  had  not  shared  the  glorious  courage  and 
the  glorious  death  of  the  heroes,  as  Swiss  should. 

Louis,  the  dauphin,  stopped  there,  upon  the  field  of  the 
dead,  and  dared  not  advance  farther.  He  was  informed 
that  the  Confederates  had  left  the  walls  of  Zurich  to  march 
against  him  with  their  whole  force.  "  Upon  my  honor,  a 
more  obstinate  people  cannot  be  found !"  cried  he ;  "I  will 
attempt  no  more  against  them."  And,  full  of  respect  for 
their  great  courage,  he  concluded  peace  with  them  at  En- 
sisheim. 

But  the  internal  war  against  Zurich,  Austria  and  her 
nobility  still  continued.  Bale  now  courageously  and 
openly  joined  the  Confederates,  aided  them  in  the  field, 
and  drove  out  from  her  walls  all  the  nobles  who  had 
given  advice  and  assistance  to  the  Armagnacs.  Her  troops 
marched  with  the  Bernese  and  Solothurners  to  Rheinfel- 
5  i 


98  JOHN  OF  RECHBERG.  [1445- 

den.,  This  city  was  devoted  to  the  Confederates ;  but  in 
the  fortress  on  the  rock  in  the  Rhine  lay  John  of  Falken- 
stein,  Hallwyl,  and  many  nobles  and  Austrians.  These 
fled  in  the  night ;  the  fortress  was  destroyed.  Rapperswyl 
had  also  to  undergo  a  new  siege ;  the  city  was  strong.  John 
of  Rechberg  and  the  Zurichers  assisted  it  vigorously.  But 
these  were  completely  defeated  by  the  Schwyzers  and  Lu- 
cerners,  near  Wollrau,  on  a  clear  winter's  night  (16  De- 
cember, 1445).  Still  more  bloody,  in  the  following  year 
(6  March,  1446),  was  the  defeat  of  the  Austrians,  when,  six 
thousand  strong,  John  Rechberg  the  heroic  warrior  being 
with  them,  they  tried  to  enter  Switzerland  near  Ragaz. 
Eleven  hundred  Confederates,  of  all  the  cantons,  obtained 
this  decisive  victory,  of  which  peace  was  the  result. 

The  emperor,  engaged  in  other  matters,  hated  this  war, 
from  which  he  derived  no  glory.  Zurich  and  the  Confed- 
erates, since  Stussi  had  fallen  and  Itel  Reding  was  also 
dead,  drew  together  of  their  own  accord.  There  were  still 
some  fighting  and  burning  here  and  there,  but  negotiations 
proceeded  actively,  until  finally,  on  the  13th  of  July,  1450, 
the  decisive  arbitration  was  pronounced  by  the  avoyer 
Henry  of  Bubenberg:  "Zurich  shall  renounce  her  alli- 
ance with  Austria,  and  shall  reenter  into  possession  of  all 
the  territory  taken  from  her  by  the  Confederates,  with  the 
exception  of  the  strip  of  land  she  had  previously  lost  on 
the  upper  lake."*  All  parties  agreed  to  leave  Toggenburg 
to  a  relative  of  the  deceased  count,  the  baron  of  Raron, 
who  shortly  afterwards  (1469)  sold  it  to  the  abbot  of  St. 
Gallen. 

*  This  now  forms  part  of  the  canton  of  Schwyz. 


-1450.]  WILLIAM  OF  GRUNENBERG.  99 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

RHEINFELDEN  IS  DEVASTATED.  FREIBURG  FALLS  INTO  THE  POWER 
OF  SAVOY.  THURGAU  BECOMES  A  COMMON  BAILIWICK  OF  THE 
CONFEDERACY. 

[A.  D.  1450  to  1468.] 

WHILE  the  Confederates  were  still  negotiating  peace, 
an  unheard-of  trespass  occurred.  The  imperial-city  of 
Eheinfelden,  devoted  to  the  Swiss,  and  formerly  mort- 
gaged to  Austria  but  afterwards  restored  to  the  empire, 
was  under  the  protection  of  Bale,  Berne  and  Solothurn. 
Each  of  these  places  had  only  a  guard  to  represent  her  in 
the  city.  No  one  feared  any  evil.  But  knight  William 
of  Grunenberg,  to  whom  Austria  had  transferred  her  mort- 
gage-rights over  Rheinfelden,  as  a  compensation  for  his 
destroyed  castle,  desired  possession  of  the  city.  He  em- 
ployed John  of  Rechberg  to  take  it  by  surprise.  Thomas 
of  Falkenstein,  the  incendiary  of  Aarau,  and  author  of  the 
nocturnal  massacre  of  Brugg,  was  also  persuaded  to  second 
the  enterprise. 

One  morning  (in  November,  1448),  during  divine  ser- 
vice, there  arrived  at  Rheinfelden  a  wood-laden  boat,  which 
had  come  down  the  Rhine ;  some* men  in  long  grey  frocks, 
who  were  on  board,  said  that  they  were  returning  from  a 
pilgrimage  to  the  gracious  Mother  of  God  at  Einsiedeln, 
and  wished  to  stop  there  for  dinner.  But,  as  soon  as  they 
were  under  the  gate,  they  suddenly  threw  off  the  frocks 
which  concealed  their  armor,  and"  killed  the  guards  and 
toll-gatherers ;  one  hundred  and  twenty  armed  men  came 
from  beneath  the  boat-load  of  wood,  and"carried  carnage 
into  the  city  ;  on  the  land-side,  through  the  opposite  gate, 
which  they  broke  in,  came  Grunenberg  and  six  hundred, 
who  had  been  in  ambush.  They  massacred  those  whom 
they  found  in  the  streets,  pillaged  the  houses  and  com- 
mitted all  kinds  of  excesses ;  drove  out  men,  women  and 
children,  who,  stripped  of  every  thing,  found  their  way  to 
Bale,  where  they  were  compassionately  received  and 
lodged  in  the  hospital  and  inns. 


100  THUEING  OF   HALLWYL.  [1450- 

The  Balese  did  still  more.  Animated  by  vengeance, 
they  issued  from  their  gates  in  strong  force,  entirely  routed 
B-echberg  and  Falkenstein  near  Hesingen,  and  burned 
many  castles  of  the  robber-nobles.  But  when,  shortly 
afterwards,  by  the  treaty  of  peace,  Kheinfelden  was  re- 
stored to  the  house  of  Austria,  and  the  nobles  were  com- 
pelled to  evacuate  the  city,  these  robbers  carried  off  all  the 
household  furniture,  destroyed  windows,  doors  and  stoves, 
and  left  nothing  but  the  bare  walls. 

A  great  part  of  Switzerland  was  desolated  by  so  long  a 
war.  Commerce  and  the  trades  languished  in  the  cities, 
agriculture  in  the  country.  This  insensate  war  had  cost 
the  Zurichers  1,070,000  guilders.  They  called  in  all  the 
money  they  had  lent.  As  emperor  Sigismund  had  mort- 
gaged to  them  the  county  of  Kyburg  and  could  not  re- 
deem it,  Austria  gave  up  the  fee  of  that  country,  in  lieu 
of  payment. 

The  animosity  between  Berne  and  Freiburg  was  embit- 
tered by  the  war,  because  Freiburg  had  always  held  with 
Austria  against  Berne  and  the  Confederates.  Freiburg, 
having  passed  from  the  dukes  of  Zahringen,  its  founders, 
to  the  heirs  of  Kyburg,  was  afterwards  sold  by  the  latter 
to  the  house  of  Austria.  Therefore  it  was  devoted  to 
Austria.  And  therefore  Berne  had  assisted  the  duke  of 
Savoy  in  the  many  disputes  and  war  between  him  and 
Freiburg. 

After  peace  was  reestablished,  Austria  recompensed  the 
people  of  Freiburg  but  poorly  for  their  fidelity :  she 
treated  them  harshly ;  arbitrarily  deposed  their  avoyer 
and  council,  refused  to  refund  the  money  advanced,  and 
gave  command  of  the  city  to  marshal  Thuring  of  Hall- 
wyl,  with  unlimited  authority.  This  alienated  the  hearts 
of  the  citizens.  Conspiracies  and  disturbances  took  place ; 
the  people  thought  to  shake  off  the  Austrian  yoke.  Berne 
hoped  to  profit  by  these  circumstances,  and  to  remove  the 
formidable  influence  of  Austria  from  her  neighborhood. 
Then  came  the  duke  of  Savoy  and  demanded  from  Frei- 
burg 200,000  guilders,  which  she  owed  him.  Affairs  were 
in  such  a  bad  state,  that  Austria  herself  saw  she  could  no 
longer  hold  Freiburg ;  she  negotiated  with  Savoy,  arid  soon 


-1468.]  EFFECTS  OF  WAR.  101 

came  to  an  agreement.  Thereon  Austria  ordered  the  mar- 
shal of  Hallvvyl  to  leave  Freiburg.  But  he  told  the  coun- 
cil-lords that  duke  Albert  himself  was  coming  to  the  city, 
that  preparations  should  be  made  for  a  solemn  reception, 
and  the  citizens  send  to  him  all  their  silver-plate,  in  order 
that  he  might  welcome  the  duke  with  becoming  splendor. 
When  he  received  the  silver,  he  had  it  packed  up  and  sent 
off  secretly.  Then  he  rode  forth,  pretending  to  go  to  meet 
the  duke.  The  avoyer  and  many  council -lords  accom- 
panied him  and  his  knights.  When  at  a  league's  distance 
from  the  city,  he  turned,  handed  to  the  avoyer  the  docu- 
ment by  which  duke  Albert  renounced  his  rights  over  the 
city,  and  said:  "Your  silver- ware  is  the  price  of  your 
freedom.  Fare  you  well!"  Hallwyl  spurred  onwards, 
and  the  men  of  Freiburg  returned  astonished  home. 

Then  fresh  disorders  and  agitations  took  place.  The 
country-people-  were  against  the  city.  The  city,  moreover, 
feared  to  fall  under  the  dominion  of  Berne.  The  duke  of 
Savoy  rigidly  exacted  the  payment  of  the  debt.  This 
threw  the  council  of  Freiburg  into  great  distress,  and  they 
surrendered  to  the  sovereignty  and  protection  of  the  duke 
of  Savoy.  On  the  10th  of  June,  1452,  in  the  cathedral-church 
of  St.  Nicholas,  the  avoyer,  the  council,  the  sixty,  the  ban- 
nerets, the  two  hundred  and  all  the  commons  of  the  city 
took  the  oath  of  fealty  to  the  duke  of  Savoy,  who,  in  re- 
turn, confirmed  the  ancient  franchises  of  the  city  and  dis- 
trict. 

In  the  mean  while,  notwithstanding  the  peace,  the  rest 
of  Switzerland  was  far  from  quiet.  The  continual  wars 
had  made  the  hearts  of  the  people  savage.  The  common 
men  preferred  to  fight  and  plunder,  rather  than  to  plough 
the  earth,  herd  cattle,  or  exercise  a  trade.  When  their 
own  country  was  at  peace,  the  sound  of  the  drum  drew 
them  abroad.  One  came  and  enlisted  soldiers  for  the  Ger- 
man, another  for  the  French  wars.  The  lords  and  rulers 
sought  to  gain  glory  and  money  and  reputation  with  the 
princes,  because  they  imagined  themselves  to  be  princes 
over  their  own  subjects. 

When  the  king  of  France  perceived  this  disposition,  he 
testified  much  friendship  towards  the  Confederates,  made 

i* 


H  FIRST  CAPITULATIONS.  [1450- 

a  neighborly  compact  with,  them  (1453),  and  many  hun- 
dreds of  valiant  Swiss  went  to  join  his  armies.  With  the 
same  views,  the  duke  of  Milan  ceded  the  Leventina  to  Uri 
in  perpetuity,  and  made  a  treaty  or  capitulation  (1467) 
with  the  Confederates,  respecting  the  passage  of  travellers, 
the  freedom  of  trade,  tolls  and  different  jurisdictions. 
These  were  the  first  treaties  of  the  Confederates  with  those 
neighbors,  whose  fields  they  were  afterwards,  for  vile  hire, 
to  water  with  so  much  precious  blood. 

But  other  contests  were  not  wanting.  When  the  city 
of  Strassburg  complained  to  the  Zurichers  that  the  robber- 
count  of  Thengen  had  plundered  the  merchants  of  Strass- 
burg, the  banners  of  Zurich  were  quickly  displayed  to 
avenge  her  friends.  The  castles  of  the  robber  fell.  Zurich 
took  Eglisau  and  Rheinau,  and  held  Eglisau  and  the  con- 
vent of  Rheinau  under  Swiss  protection,  in  payment  of  her 
costs  (1457).  Strassburg  invited  the  stout,  valiant  young 
men  of  Zurich  to  a  festival,  in  celebration  of  their  victory 
and  friendship.  The  young  men  descended  the  Limmat, 
the  Aar  and  the  Rhine,  in  boats,  to  Strassburg.  They 
started  in  the  early  morning,  and  took  with  them  boiling 
millet-porridge  and  hot  rolls,  well  covered.  In  the  even- 
ing, landing  at  Strassburg,  they  presented  the  porridge 
and  the  rolls,  still  warm,  at  the  joyous  festival,  to  show 
how  quickly  friends  can  reach  friends. 

On  the  following  year,  a  shooting-match  at  Constance 
had  an  unfortunate  result.  There  a  citizen  of  Constance 
refused  to  receive  a  Bernese  plappart  (twenty-nine  plap- 
parts  make  a  guilder)  from  a  man  of  Lucerne,  and  con- 
temptuously called  the  Swiss  money  cow-plapparts.  Piqued 
at  this,  all  the  Swiss  left  the  fete.  They  soon  returned 
in  rage,  four  thousand  men  from  all  the  cantons,  and  rav- 
aged the  territory  of  Constance  in  Thurgau.  Constance 
was  compelled  to  purchase  peace  with  a  large  sum.  This 
was  called  the  plappart-war. 

As  the  Confederates  were  returning  home  from  Con- 
stance, three  hundred  of  them,  men  of  Uri,  Schwyz  and 
Unterwalden,  requested  passage  and  a  night's  lodging  from 
the  city  of  Rapperswyl.  The  wearied  men  were  received 
with  friendly  hospitality.  The  citizens  of  Rapperswyl, 


-1468.]  MUHLHAUSKN.  103 

although  faithful  servants  to  the  dukes  of  Austria,  con- 
stantly suffered  much  maltreatment  from  them.  There- 
fore the  citizens  were  well  disposed  towards  the  Confede- 
rates, treated  them  most  hospitably,  and,  on  that  same 
night,  Rapperswyl  and  the  Confederates  concluded  an  ever- 
lasting friendship;  arid,  without  reference  to  Austria,  Rap- 
pers wyl  entered  into  a  defensive  compact  with  the  three 
Waldstatten  (1458),  and  afterwards  (1464)  with  Glarus 
also. 

When  arch-duke  Sigismund  heard  this,  he  was  much 
angered.  But  he  was  fully  occupied  with  more  serious 
troubles,  which  left  him  no  time  for  the  Confederates.  The 
pope  of  Rome,  himself,  had  a  quarrel  with  the  duke,  ex- 
communicated him  and  called  upon  the  Swiss  to  take  pos- 
session of  the  remaining  Austrian  territory  in  Helvetia. 
They,  knowing  very  well  that  not  only  the  pope,  but  also 
the  emperor,  was  opposed  to  the  grand-duke,  were,  except- 
ing Berne,  soon  under  arms,  and  invaded  Thurgau,  which 
was  obliged  to  swear  fealty  to  the  seven  cantons  of  the 
Confederacy,  reserving  its  rights  and  tribunals.  Diessen- 
hofen  in  vain  defended  herself  valiantly  for  Austria.  All 
the  country-people  were  for  the  Swiss.  From  this  time 
the  Confederates  (Appenzell  and  Berne -excep ted)  retained 
the  rights  which  Austria  had  possessed  over  Thurgau.  • 

Berne  and  Schaffhausen  were,  however,  associated  in 
the  protectorate  over  Diessenhofen.  The  duke,  seeing  that 
all  was  lost,  sold  the  city  of  Winterthur  also  to  the  Zu- 
richers.  Thus  broad,  beautiful  Thurgau  became  a  Swiss 
domain  in  1460. 

At  the  same  period,  Muhlhausen,  an  imperial-city  in 
Alsace,  was  much  distressed  by  the  inimical  robber-nobles 
in  her  vicinity,  and  could  no  longer  resist  them.  A  mas- 
ter-joiner had  cut  off  six  plapparts  from  his  servant's  wages ; 
the  servant  implored  the  protection  of  a  noble  ;  the  noble 
picked  a  quarrel  with  the  city.  Hence  a  feud  and  war. 
Then  Muhlhausen  asked  assistance  from  the  Confederates. 
The  latter,  friendly  to  the  city,  showed  themselves  ready 
to  sustain  her.  But  the  nobles  secured  the  aid  of  duke 
Sigismund  of  Austria.  After  long  parleying^  without  re- 
sult, the  flames  of  war  spread  afresh  from  Schaffhausen  to 


104  CESSION   OF  THURGAU.  [1469- 

Waldshut  and  Muhlhausen.  Many  castles  and  villages 
were  destroyed,  many  men  slain.  The  Confederates,  con- 
querors everywhere,  at  last  laid  siege  to  Waldshut.  Berne 
wished  to  take  this  city  by  assault,  and  to  make  of  it  a 
fortress  of  the  Confederates  against  Germany.  The  rest 
had  no  such  far-reaching  views.  Berne,  with  regret,  was 
silent  on  seeing  her  Confederates  accept  a  treaty  of  peace 
on  conditions  of  reimbursement  of  their  war-expenses.  In 
vain  said  the  Bernese  soldiers  :  "  We  did  not  take  up  arms 
that  we  might  carry  home  gold,  but  that  we  might  conquer 
cities  and  castles."  A  peace  was  concluded  at  Waldshut, 
by  which  Muhlhausen  and  Schaffhausen  were  secured 
against  Austria  and  the  nobility.  This  was  in  1468,  in 
which  year  also,  duke  Sigismund  made  to  the  Confede- 
rates a  solemn  cession  of  his  rights  over  Thurgau. 


CHAPTER  XXYI. 

UNION    OF   THE    THREE    LEAGUES    IN    RHETIA.       DISCORD    IN   BERNE. 
COMMENCEMENT    OF   THE    BURGUNDIAN    WAR. 

[A.  D.  146»  to  1476.] 

THE  Grisons  in  the  Ehetian  highlands  had  taken  no  part 
in  the  wars  and  disturbances  which  desolated  Switzerland, 
sometimes  even  for  a  plappart.  They  lived  then  in  the 
first  innocent  love  of  liberty  and  of  toe  everlasting  rights 
which  belong  to  all  men.  They  resembled  the  Confede- 
rates of  the  earlier  times,  who  sought  the  noble  jewel  free- 
dom, not  for  themselves  alone,  but  for  others  also ;  they 
asked  only  for  independence  from  the  tyranny  and  caprices 
of  great  lords,  but  desired  no  subjects  or  slaves.  Many 
valleys  in  the  Upper  and  God's-house  leagues  had  freed 
themselves  from  tribute  and  service  by  heavy  payments, 
never  by  force  and  revolt.  But  when  the  great  lords,  re- 
gardless of  the  purchased  rights,  tried  to  impose  the  yoke 
anew  upon  men  lawfully  free,  then  the  people  rose,  with 
arms  in  their  hands,  and  with  the  force  of  enraged  lions, 


-1476.]  THE   ORISON   REPUBLIC.  105 

against  the  enemies  of  their  rights  and  happiness,  and  tri- 
umphed, as  did  the  first  Confederates.  Many  haughty  no- 
bles, who  had  sworn  to  a  "black  league"  against  the 
descendants  of  John  Chaldar  (1450),  lie  slain  and  buried 
in  Schamserthal. 

To  strengthen  their  hands  against  the  attacks  of  their 
enemies  and  to  preserve  concord  among  themselves,  depu- 
ties from  all  the  communes  and  all  the  jurisdictions  of  the 
three  leagues  assembled  in  the  little  village  of  Vazerol,  in 
the  centre  of  the  country  (1471).  There  they  swore,  in 
the  name  of  the  three  leagues,  to  remain  always  bound  to- 
gether for  their  rights  in  danger  and  in  death ;  to  stand  as 
a  single  state  against  foreigners;  to  discuss  their  common 
affairs  and  decide  their  differences  every  year  in  general 
diet.  The  Diet  was  to  be  held  alternately  at  Coire  in  the 
GodVhouse  league,  at  Ilanz  in  the  Upper  league,  and  at 
Davos  in  the  league  of  the  Ten  Jurisdictions.  The  depu- 
ties to  the  Diet  were  not,  however,  to  have  ultimate  legis- 
lative authority,  but  only  the  right  of  initiative :  the  adop- 
tion or  rejection  of  what  they  might  propose  belonging  to 
the  sovereign-people  in  their  communes.  In  any  dispute 
between  two  leagues,  the  third  was  to  be  arbitrator ;  what- 
ever two  leagues  agreed  upon,  was  obligatory  on  the  third. 
So  with  their  organization :  each  commune  had  its  own 
laws  and  its  own  ammann ;  several  communes  united  had 
their  landammann  and  their  low  and  high  tribunal  or  ju- 
risdiction ;  hence  such  a  union  of  communes  was  called  a 
high  jurisdiction;  several  high  jurisdictions  formed  a 
league,  and  the  three  leagues  composed  the  republic  of 
Rhetia.  The  people  themselves  elected  and  installed  their 
magistrates,  and  chose  therefor  the  most  estimable  persons, 
in  whom  they  had  confidence. 

While  union  was  thus  strengthening  the  people  in  the 
Grison  country,  discord  and  the  arrogance  of  great  power 
brought  the  commonwealth  of  the  city  of  Berne  into  much 
danger.  This  city,  first  built  on  free  soil  by  the  dukes  of 
Zahringen,  and  peopled  by  free  burghers  and  industrious 
mechanics,  counted  also  among  her  citizens  the  signiors 
possessing  jurisdiction  in  her  neighborhood ;  so  that  the 
city  protected  the  rights  of  these  signiors  over  their  respec- 
5* 


106  PETER  KISTLER.  [1469- 

tive  territories,  and  the  signiors,  on  their  side,  helped  the 
city  as  good  burghers.  Many  members  of  these  noble 
families  sat  in  the  city-council,  and  at  all  times  made  them- 
selves useful  to  the  commonwealth  by  their  wisdom,  their 
courage  and  their  riches.  They  had  especially  assisted  the 
city  to  increase  the  number  of  her  subjects  by  purchase  or 
conquest,  and  to  obtain  great  influence  in  the  Confederacy. 
The  common  citizens,  nevertheless,  considered  themselves 
the  equals  of  the  noble  signioral  families,  but  the  latter 
looked  with  contempt  upon  the  farriers,  the  butchers,  the 
bakers  and  other  respectable  mechanics,  and  prided  them- 
selves on  their  noble  birth  and  the  long  series  of  their  an- 
cestors. This  angered  the  citizens  and  caused  them  to  seize 
every  opportunity  to  humble  the  pride  of  the  nobles. 

Such  an  opportunity  was  presented  at  this  period  when 
great  dissension  took  place  in  the  council  of  Berne,  in  con- 
sequence of  a  constable  of  the  signiory  of  Worb  having 
exceeded  his  authority.  On  the  appeal  of  the  condemned 
constable  to  the  council,  two  parties  were  formed :  that  of 
the  signiors,  who  were  leagued  together  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  their  guaranteed  prerogatives  and  demanded  a 
sentence  accordingly,  and  that  of  the  other  members  of  the 
council,  having  at  their  head  Peter  Kistler,  by  trade  a 
butcher.  The  signiors  were  deprived  of  their  prerogatives. 
Thereupon  they  all  left  the  city,  with  their  wives  and 
families,  and  retired  to  their  hereditary  estates  in  the  coun- 
try. And  when  Peter  Kistler  was  afterwards  elected 
avoyer  of  Berne  (1470),  he  took  pleasure  in  bringing  the 
nobles  to  an  equality  with  the  common  citizens.  The 
avoyer,  councils  and  burghers  of  Berne  published  a  severe 
moral  and  sumptuary  law.  When  the  wives  and  daughters 
of  the  nobles  learnt  that  they  must  give  up  the  long  trains 
of  their  dresses,  they  broke  forth  into  complaints,  and  per- 
suaded their  husbands  and  fathers  not  to  obey,  for  the  long 
train  was  the  distinguishing  mark  of  nobility.  Hence  new 
troubles  arose,  so  that  the  Confederacy  became  anxious  and 
desired  to  mediate.  This  determined  the  council  of  Berne  - 
to  put  an  end  to  the  dispute.  They  first  caused  the  sump- 
tuary law  to  be  executed,  and  then  banished  the  nobility, 
who  submitted.  But  shortly  afterwards  (8  April  and  17 


-1476.]  CHARLES  THE   BOLD.  107 

May,  1741),  milder  laws  were  adopted  and  better  observed. 
Thus  quiet  was  once  more  restored  to  the  Bernese. 

Never  had  internal  peace  been  more  necessary.-  The 
days  had  come  in  which  the  whole  Confederacy  required 
more  harmony  and  vigor  than  ever  before,  in  order  not  to 
become  the  prey  of  Charles  the  Bold,  duke  of  Burgundy. 
This  was  a  proud  prince,  loving  glory  and  dominion,  but 
impetuous,  passionate  against  all  who  opposed  him.  His 
territory  extended  from  the  Swiss  frontier,  across  the  Jura 
and  the  Rhine,  between  the  Rhine  and  France,  as  far  as  the 
North  sea.  He  had  driven  out  duke  Rene  of  Lorraine, 
and  even  terrified  king  Louis  XL  of  France,  in  Paris,  with 
his  arms.  The  latter  therefore  hated  bold  Charles  of  Bur- 
gundy, and  constantly  excited  fresh  enemies  against  him 
The  king  applied,  with  many  flatteries,  to  the  Swiss,  whose 
formidable  valor  he  had  become  acquainted  with,  when  yet 
dauphin,  on  the  field  of  St.  Jacques.  He  spared  neither 
presents  nor  gold  chains  for  the  council-lords  in  the  Swiss 
cities,  to  persuade  them  to  help  him  against  the  duke. 
The  ejected  Rene  of  Lorraine  also  earnestly  implored  their 
assistance,  and  the  emperor  of  Germany  himself  incited 
them  against  Burgundy.  They  had  really  no  cause  of 
complaint  against  the  duke,  except  that  his  bailiff,  Peter  of 
Hagenbach,  had  shown  himself  remiss  in  protecting  Swiss 
merchants,  when,  on  their  journeys  through  Burgundy, 
they  were  maltreated  by  his  people.  However,  they  did  not 
long  resist  the  entreaties  and  presents  of  king  Louis,  espe- 
cially as  the  warlike  youth  of  the  Swiss  cities  thirsted  for 
new  exploits.  Austria,  Lorraine,  and  other  sovereignties 
of  German  soil  had  also  united  against  Burgundy. 

Thus  the  Confederates  made  a  compact  with  France 
(1474),  and,  with  eight  thousand  men,  invaded  Upper  Bur- 
gundy, pillaging  and  burning ;  while  the  Lorrainers  and 
Austrians  did  the  same,  with  ten  thousand.  Bale,  Freiburg, 
Schaff  hausen  and  St.  Gallen  also  sent  troops  with  the  Con- 
federates. They  all  behaved  barbarously,  and  bore  with 
a  heavy  hand  upon  the  counts  and  lords  in  Vaud  who 
were  in  favor  of  Burgundy,  and  upon  the  duke  of  Savoy, 
who  held  with  Charles  the  Bold.  The  Bernese  and  Frei- 
burgers  took  Morat,  whicfy  was  obliged  to  swear  allegiance 


108  LOUIS  XI.  [1476- 


to  them.     The  banners  of  the  Confederates  flont"d  vt' 
rious  far  along  lake  Leman.     Many  Savovnr  i 
gundian  castles  fell  in  flames,  on  the  right  and 
garrison  was  placed  in  the  castle  of  Grandson,  on  th 
of  Neuchatel.      The  Valaisians  also  joined  them  against 
the  great  power  of  Savoy. 

Now  when  the  Swiss  were  fully  engaged  in  this  war  for 
the  French  king  and  the  German  emperor,  they  were  sud- 
denly and  perfidiously  deserted  by  both.  First,  the  em- 
peror made  peace  with  the  duke  of  Burgundy  ;  then, 
twelve  weeks  afterwards  (1475),  the  king  of  France  con- 
cluded a  truce  with  him  for  several  years.  He  bad  pro- 
mised the  Swiss  to  stand  with  them  against  the  duke  ;  now, 
he  even  granted  to  the  latter  a  free  passage  across  his 
territory  against  the  Confederates.  For  Charles  the  Bold 
was  most  irritated  against  the  Confederates,  and  wished  to 
humble  them  and  avenge  himself.  He  had  an  only  daughter, 
sole  heiress  to  all  his  domains  ;  with  her  and  his  riches  he 
dazzled  both  the  king  and  the  emperor.  He  flattered  the 
one  and  the  other  with  the  expectation  that  he  would  be- 
stow his  heiress  upon  the  son  of  each.  He  intended  noth- 
ing less. 

His  hands  being  thus  freed,  he  raised  powerful  forces  in 
his  own  country,  in  France  and  Italy.  The  betrayed  Con- 
federates were  terrified,  and  sent  two  embassadors  to  him, 
to  offer  peace,  an  exclusive  alliance  and  every  satisfaction. 
But  he  haughtily  rejected  their  proposals,  and  marched 
from  BesanQon  over  the  Jura  against  Grandson  with  sixty 
thousand  men,  to  sacrifice  the  Swiss  to  his  vengeance. 
This  was  in  March,  1476. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

RESULT    OF   THE    BURGUNDIAN   WAR.     FREIBCRG    BECOMES    FREE. 
[A.  D.  1476  to  1477.] 

WHEN  duke  Charles  of  Burgundy  had  passed  the  Jura, 
e  found  the  city  of  Y verdun  already  in  possession  of  his 


-1477.]  GRANDSON   AND   MOJIAT.  109 

people,  by  the  aid  of  treacherous  citizens;  in  the  castle 
alone  a  weak  troop  of  Bernese  still  resisted  his  whole  force. 
And  when  he  appeared  before  Grandson,  the  little  garrison 
intrepidly  withstood  his  rage,  and  was  not  intimidated ; 
although  the  castle  was  assaulted  day  and  night.  Irritated 
at  having  been  uselessly  detained  for  ten  days  before  this 
miserable  place,  he  ordered  a  general  attack,  and  threat- 
ened to  hang  all  the  Swiss  if  they  resisted  any  longer. 
This  shook  the  courage  of  many,  especially  of  the  cowardly 
captain,  John  Wyler.  Thereupon  came  to  them,  from  the 
enemy's  camp,  a  Burgundian  noble,  who  spoke  German, 
praised  their  courage,  said  that  the  duke  respected  it,  and, 
in  the  name  of  the  prince,  promised  them  a  free  retreat  if 
they  would  desist  from  their  fruitless  resistance.  They 
allowed  themselves  to  be  persuaded,  and  after  having  pre- 
sented a  hundred  guilders  to  the  Burgundian,  in  gratitude 
for  his  mediation,  left  the  castle  without  mistrust.  But 
the  duke  caused  them  to  be  seized  and  hung  naked  on  the 
trees,  by  hundreds ;  others  were  cruelly  dragged  about  in 
the  water  with  ropes,  until  they  were  drowned. 

In  the  mean  while,  the  Confederates,  twenty  thousand 
strong,  hurried  towards  Grandson,  without  fear  of  the 
duke's  army,  thrice  their  numbers.  In  the  dawn  of  the 
3d  of  March,  1476,  the  soldiers  of  Lucerne,  Schwyz  and 
Bernese  Oberland,  the  vanguard,  showed  themselves  among 
the  vineyards  between  the  lake  of  Neuchatel  and  the  Jura 
mountains.  After  having  made  their  prayer,  they  com- 
menced the  attack.  With  firm  step,  Freiburg  and  Berne, 
also,  pressed  forward,  led  by  the  experienced  warrior,  John 
of  Hallwyl,  and  the  Bernese  avoyer,  Nicholas  of  Schar- 
nachtal.  And  when  this  vanguard  had  already,  for  several 
hours,  maintained  a  severe  combat  on  the  bloody  field, 
then,  first,  the  main  body  of  the  advancing  Confederates 
appeared  upon  the  heights,  in  the  bright  rays  of  the  noon- 
day sun.  Erom  the  tops  of  the  hills  resounded  the  spirit- 
stirring  notes  of  the  horn  of  Unterwalden,  and  the  gloomy 
bellowing  of  the  bull  of  Uri.*  There,. also,  waved  the 
banners  of  Zurich  and  Schaffhausen.  "  What  people  are 

*  A  horn  which  imitates  the  voice  of  this  animal. 


110  ADRIAN  OF  BUBENBERG.  [1476- 

those  ?"  cried  tlie  duke.  "  Those  are  the  men  before  whom 
Austria  fled  !"  replied  the  lord  of  Stein.  "  Alas !"  said  the 
duke,  "a  handful  of  these  men  have  harassed  us  the  whole 
day;  what  will  become  of  us  when  they  come  in  such 
numbers !"  And  terror  seized  upon  his  troops,  when  the 
bloody  work  commenced  anew.  In  vain  did  the  duke 
throw  himself  before  the  flyers.  He  could  not  stop  them ; 
they  carried  him  away  with  them.  The  eager  Swiss  pur- 
sued even  into  the  dark  night.  But  when  the  men  of 
Berne  and  Freiburg  saw  the  bodies  hanging  on  the  trees 
before  Grandson,  furiously  they  stormed  the  castle.  The 
Burgundian  soldiers  tremblingly  surrendered.  But  they 
were  all  hung  without  pity  in  the  place  of  the  dead  Swiss, 
whose  bodies  their  friends  carried  away. 

Bold  Charles  had  lost  a  thousand  men  and  his  magnifi- 
cent camp  equipage,  valued  at  more  than  a  million  of 
guilders.  Even  his  ducal  robes,  ornamented  with  pearls, 
diamonds,  rubies  and  other  precious  stones,  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Confederates.  A  Swiss  found  upon  the  high- 
way a  diamond,  large  as  half  a  nut.  He  sold  this  brilliant 
stone,  the  value  of  which  he  did  not  know  and  which  he 
was  flbout  to  throw  away,  to  a  priest  for  three  francs. 
Afterwards,  it  passed  through  many  hands,  until  it  finally 
reached  the  triple  crown  of  the  pope  at  the  price  of  20,000 
ducats.  Another  diamond,  also  found  in  the  camp,  through 
successive  purchases  and  sales,  went  to  ornament  the  royal 
crown  of  France.  So  valuable  was  the  booty. 

Soon,  unexpectedly,  Charles  returned  with  fresh  forces, 
by  Lausanne,  into  Switzerland.  He  mustered  his  large 
army  near  Lausanne  in  April ;  then  he  marched  to  the 
shores  of  the  lake  of  Neuchatel,  and  thence  against  Morat 
(Murten).  Here  Adrian  of  Bubenberg,  with  six  hundred 
braves  and  the  men  of  the  city,  maintained  a  better  defence 
than  had  formerly  been  made  at  Grandson.  While  the 
duke  was  detained  here,  the  Confederates  and  their  friends 
assembled  their  troops.  Morat  was  already  in  danger; 
the  ramparts  and  tower  were  breached.  The  wall  was 
shaken,  but  not  the  courage  of  Adrian  of  Bubenberg  and 
his  Swiss. 

He  remained  firm,  until  the  Confederates  arrived  from 


-1477.]  JOHN  OF  HALLWYL.  Ill 

all  sides,  with  their  allies  of  Bienne,  the  Alsace  cities, 
Bale,  St.  Gallen  and  Scbaffhausen.  These  came  first. 
After  them,  in  the  bad  weather,  over  the  bad  roads,  hur- 
ried the  men  of  Zurich,  Thurgau,  Aargau  and  Sargans. 
John  Waldmarin,  the  leader  of  the  Zurichers,  allowed  his 
tired  people  only  a  few  hours'  rest  at  Berne,  on  the  even- 
ing before  the  battle;  then  gave  the  signal  for  marching 
at  ten  o'clock  at  night.  The  whole  city  was  illuminated ; 
before  every  house  stood  tables  with  refreshments  for  the 
soldiers.  In  the  darkness,  through  storm  and  rain,  the 
main  body  of  the  troops  marched  towards  Morat 

The  day  of  battle  dawned.  The  sky  was  covered  with 
clouds.  Bain  fell  in  streams.  Then  the  Burgundians  de- 
ployed their  immense  array  before  the  eyes  of  the  Confed- 
erates. But  the  Confederates  were  barely  thirty-four  thou- 
sand men.  John  of  Hallwyl,  before  he  gave  the  signal  for 
attack,  knelt  down  with  his  army.  And,  while  they  prayed, 
the  sun  broke  brightly  through  the  clouds.  At  once,  John 
of  Hallwyl  waved  his  sword  and  cried :  "  Up !  up !  Con- 
federates !  See !  God  will  shine  upon  our  victory  !"  He 
said  It  was  the  22d  of  June.  Then  thundered  the  shock 
of  arms;  then  the  smiting  and  fighting  spread  from  the 
lake  to  the  heights.  On  the  left  fought  Hallwyl ;  on  the 
right,  by  the  lake,  the  strength  of  the  Swiss  army,  under 
John  Waldmann;  among  the  trees  on  the  shore,  Buben- 
berg.  Hallwyl  had  a  hard  fight;  but  he  maintained  it 
until  Caspar  of  Hertenstein,  the  white-haired  general  of 
Lucerne,  appeared  on  the  heights  behind  the  enemy.  Hall- 
wyl had  sent  him  thither  through  by-paths.  Now  death 
penetrated  the  ranks  of  the  Burgundians,  in  front  and  rear. 
Thousands  fought,  thousands  fell,  thousands  fled.  The 
duke  saw  that  all  was  lost;  leaped  upon  his  fleet  horse, 
and,  pale  and  gloomy,  with  barely  thirty  knights,  escaped 
to  the  lake  of  Geneva.  Fifteen  thousand  of  his  people  lay 
slain  between  the  lake  of  Morat  and  Avenches.  Many, 
seeking  for  safety,  perished  in  the  water  and  in  the  swamps 
of  the  lake-shore.  The  rest  were  dispersed ;  all  the  ene- 
my's tents,  provisions  and  treasures  became  the  booty  of 
the  victors.  The  dead  bodies  were  buried  in  trenches  with 
quicklime  and  covered  with  earth.  Some  years  afterwards 


112  JOHN   WALDMANN.  [1476- 

the  people  of  Morat  built  an  ossuary  which  they  filled  with 
Burgundian  bones  and  skulls,  to  show  foreigners  how  for- 
midable the  Confederates  are  when  united. 

Then  duke  Rene  of  Lorraine,  whom  Charles  had  for- 
merly driven  from  his  country,  could  triumph.  He  made 
active  war  against  his  humbled  enemy,  and  re-took  the  city 
of  Nancy.  He  also  requested  a  reinforcement  of  six  thou- 
sand men  from  the  Swiss ;  they  sent  eight  thousand,  under" 
command  of  John  Waldmann,  the  victorious  hero  of  Mo- 
rat.  When  they  joined  Rene's  army,  Charles  the  Bold 
also  reappeared  with  fresh  forces,  and  vigorously  attacked 
Nancy.  Thereat  Rene  hastened  with  his  own  troops  and 
the  Swiss,  to  save  the  hard-pressed  city.  A  battle  imme- 
diately took  place  near  Nancy,  on  the  5th  of  January, 
1477.  But  Charles's  army  was  discouraged.  The  com- 
mander of  his  vanguard,  count  Cola  Campobasso,  instead 
of  attacking,  treacherously  passed  over  to  Rene.  Rene's 
army  was  stronger  in  numbers  and  in  courage  than  that  of 
Charles,  The  latter  was  therefore  vanquished  and  fled; 
falling  with  his  horse,  on  a  slightly-frozen  marsh,  he 
was  slain  by  his  pursuers.  Five  hundred  of  his  nobles 
and  knights  lay  around  him ;  the  bodies  of  thousands  of 
his  soldiers  covered  the  battle-field.  Thus  died  the  formi- 
dable enemy  of  the  Confederates. 

Then  Charles's  enemies  took  possession  of  his  country. 
But  the  states  of  Upper  Burgundy  sent  to  the  Confeder- 
ates and  asked  for  peace,  and  even  to  be  admitted  into 
their  bond.  Berne,  politic  and  magnanimous,  was  in  favor 
of  this  admission.  "  The  Jura  and  the  Vosges  will  be  a 
strong  rampart  for  us  Confederates  against  France,"  said 
they.  But  the  others,  especially  the  small  cantons,  were 
opposed.  They  feared  that  such  an  extension  of  the  bond 
would  draw  them  into  many  foreign  wars,  or  that  they 
would  themselves  become  insignificant  from  the  larger  size 
of  so  many  other  cantons.  Therefore  the  Burgundians 
were  compelled  to  purchase  peace  from  the  Confederates 
for  150,000  guilders.  But  duke  Maximilian  of  Austria  ob- 
tained Upper  Burgundy  with  the  hand  of  Maria,  daughter 
of  Charles  the  Bold.  And  Austria  made  with  Zurich, 
Berne,  Lucerne,  Uri  and  Solothurn,  a  treaty  for  mutual  de- 


-HW.]  THE  JOYOUS  BAND.  113 

fence  and  perpetual  peace,  in  which  Unterwalden,  Schwyz, 
Zug  and  Glarus  shortly  after  joined.  By  this  treaty  Aus- 
tria renounced  her  pretensions  to  every  thing  that  the  Con- 
federates had  taken  from  the  house  of  Habsburg,  and  both 
parties  promised  mutual  assistance  in  case  of  need. 

A  treaty  was  also  made  with  the  king  of  France,  and  he 
was  permitted  to  enlist  soldiers  for  his  army  from  among 
the  Swiss.  For  this  purpose  he  lavished  much  money, 
many  presents  and  pensions  in  Switzerland.  Then  the 
bailiffs,  patricians  and  council-lords  enrolled  valiant  sol- 
diers for  the  king ;  were  enriched,  as  captains  and  officers, 
by  his  gifts  and  pay ;  and,  for  the  sake  of  these,  watered 
foreign  soils  with  noble  Swiss  blood. 

But,  at  this  time,  there  were  in  the  country  many  idlers, 
who,  in  war,  had  lost  all  taste  for  labor,  for  a  regular  and 
honest  life,  and  preferred  to  live  by  fighting  and  plunder- 
ing. Many  went,  at  their  own  cost  and  risk,  to  seek  for- 
tune in  foreign  wars,  and  these  emigrations  were  endless. 
Many  others  lived  a  disorderly  life  by  plunder  in  their  own 
country.  Others  committed  still  other  excesses.  At  Zug, 
in  carnival  time,  some,  over  their  play  and  wine,  talked  of 
the  unequal  distribution  of  the  Burgundian  booty,  and 
said  that  the  great  families  of  Berne  and  Freiburg  had  ap- 
propriated much  the  larger  share.  They  formed  a  league 
under  oath  in  order  to  bring  these  latter  to  account,  and 
called  themselves  "  the  band  of  joyous  life."  Noisily  and 
jovially,  all  armed,  they  passed  through  the  .cities  and  can- 
tons of  Switzerland,  their  numbers  constantly  increasing 
with  wild  young  men,  on  their  way  to  demand  from  Geneva 
an  unpaid  contribution  for  the  expenses  of  the  Burgundian 
war.  They  did  no  harm  to  any  one,  and  paid  for  whatever 
they  used.  At  Berne  they  were  seven  hundred,  at  Frei- 
burg two  thousand  strong.  This  disorder  excited  great 
fear.  The  authorities  exhorted  their  subjects  to  take  no 
part  in  any  illegal  arming.  Diets  were  held.  The  young 
men  of  the  joyous  band  were  appeased  by  friendly  words, 
but  could  not  be  persuaded  to  return  peacefully  to  their 
homes  until  Geneva  and  Lausanne  had  paid  up  their  ar- 
rears. Then  they  dispersed. 

At  the  same  time,  Berne  made  a  peace  and  compact  with 


114  MILITARY  PRIDE.  [1478- 

Savoy,  restored  Vaud,  which  she  had  received  on  mort- 
gage, and  kept  only  Aelen  (Aigle) ;  on  the  other  hand  she 
obtained  that  Freiburg  should  be  declared  independent  of 
Savoy,  as  a  free  city  of  the  Koman  empire  (23d  August, 
1477).  For  Berne  did  not  like  to  have  a  Savoyard  garri- 
son so  near  her.  Freiburg,  as  the  price  of  her  liberty,  as- 
sumed a  large  portion  of  the  Savoyard  debt. 


CHAPTER  XXYIIL 

THE  GLORIOUS  DAY  OF  OIORNICO.  NICHOLAS  VON  DER  FLUE.  FREI- 
BURG AND  SOLOTHURN  IN  THE  SWISS  CONFEDERACY.  DEATH  OP 
JOHN  WALDMANN  AT  ZURICH. 

[A.  D.  1478  to  14S9.] 

IN  the  valleys  and  in  the  mountains,  in  the  cities  and  in 
the  country-communes  of  Switzerland,  the  people  were  full 
of  military  pride.  Since  the  duke  of  Burgundy  had  lost 
his  treasure  in  one  battle,  his  army  in  a  second,  his  life  in 
a  third,  the  Swiss  feared  no  man  more.  Hence  wars  with- 
out end. 

One  day  some  subjects  of  Milan  cut  a  parcel  of  wood  in 
a  forest  of  Leventina.  At  once  some  young  men  of  Uri 
passed  the  St.  Gotthard,  and,  in  revenge,  robbed  and  mal- 
treated the  subjects  of  Milan  in  the  neighboring  villages. 
Uri,  instead  of  punishing  these  young  men,  took  them 
under  her  protection,  declared  war  against  the  Milanese, 
and  called  on  the  Confederates  for  assistance.  The  Con- 
federates saw  the  injustice  of  Uri,  and  wished  to  mediate, 
but  not  to  desert  those  of  Uri  in  their  danger.  Therefore 
they  immediately  sent  troops  to  act  in  case  of  need. 

When  the  duke  of  Milan  knew  of  this,  he  sent  count 
Borelli  with  a  large  force  along  the  Ticino.  Near  the  vil- 
lage of  Griornico  lay  the  advanced  guard  of  the  Swiss. 
They  were  only  six  hundred  men  of  Uri,  Lucerne,  Schwyz 
and.  Zurich ;  the  other  Confederates,  to  the  number  of  ten 
thousand,  were  still  far  behind.  Borelli  wished  to  occupy 


-1489.]  PEISCHHANS  THEILIG.  115 

Giornico  with  the  best  of  his  troops.  But  it  was  mid-win- 
ter. The  Swiss  let  the  waters  of  the  Ticino  over  the  mea- 
dows, which  were  immediately  covered  with  ice ;  then  they 
fastened  ice-nails  to  their  shoes.  While  the  Milanese  were 
ascending  the  slippery  slope  with  insecure  steps,  the  Swiss 
rushed  upon  with  firm  foothold  (28th  December,  1478). 
Their  small  number  had  easy  work  with  the  multitude  of 
enemies,  who  could  not  stand  securely  on  their  legs.  Frisch- 
hans  Theilig,  the  Lucerners'  captain,  was  the  angel  of  death 
to  the  Milanese.  These  fled  in  terror:  fifteen  thousand 
men  before  six  hundred.  Their  blood  dyed  the  snow  as 
far  as  Bellinzona ;  more  than  fifteen  hundred  were  slain. 
This  almost  incredible  feat  made  the  name  of  Swiss  cele- 
brated throughout  Italy.  Milan  purchased  peace,  paid 
damages,  and  recognized  that  the  Leventina  with  the  val- 
ley of  Brugiasco  belonged  to  Uri  in  perpetual  fief,  on  con- 
dition that  Uri  should  yearly  send  to  the  Duomo  of  .Milan 
a  wax  candle  weighing  three  pounds. 

In  most  of  the  wars,  especially  against  Burgundy,  the 
cities  of  Solothurn  and  Freiburg  had  fought  valiantly  for 
the  Confederates.  Therefore  Berne  desired  to  bring  these 
two  cities  into  the  Confederacy.  The  free  country-people 
in  Uri,  Schwyz  and  Unterwalden  were,  on  the  contrary, 
much  opposed  to  this.  They  feared  lest  the  cities,  which 
were  more  advanced  in  civilization  and  acquirements,  and 
which,  moreover,  were  always  striving  to  increase  their 
territory  and  subjects,  should  finally  become  masters,  and 
rule  the  whole  Confederacy  to  suit  their  pleasure  and  their 
interests.  On  account  of  this  jealousy  and  fear,  they  were 
unwilling  to  admit  any  more  dominant  cities.  The  cities, 
on  their  side,  entertained  quite  other  suspicions  against 
the  free  country-cantons.  Immediately  after  the  disorder? 
occasioned  by  the  band  of  joyous  life,  Zurich,  Berne  and 
Lucerne  had  made  with  each  other  and  with  Solothurn  and 
Freiburg  a  treaty  of  coburghership,  for  mutual  support, 
because  they  feared  lest  the  free  country-people  of  the 
small  cantons  might  wish  to  have  all  Swiss  as  free  as  them- 
selves, and  even  excite  the  subjects  of  the  cities,  sooner  or 
later,  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  the  city -burghers  and  to  in- 
troduce an  entirely  communal  government.  The  city- 


116  PETER  AM   STALDEN.  [1478- 

burghers  did  not  desire  this.  They  had  acquired  their 
subjects  by  conquest  or  purchase,  and  wished  their  rights 
to  remain  untouched. 

Thus  arose  a  reciprocal  mistrust  among  the  Confederates. 
An  occurrence  confirmed  the  suspicions  of  the  cities.  At 
Escholzmatt,  in  the  Lucerne  bailiwick  of  Entlibuch,  lived 
Peter  Am  Stalden,  a  valiant  warrior ;  he  was  often  visited 
by  his  cousin,  the  ancient  landammann  Henry  Burgler  of 
Obwalden,  andthelatter's  brother-in-lawKuhnegger;  seated 
over  a  glass  of  wine,  they  liked  to  talk  about  liberty.  Peter 
had  reason  to  complain  of  the  bailiff  in  Entlibuch  and  of  the 
patricians  in  Lucerne.  The  Obwaldeners  persuaded  him 
to  strike  a  great  blow  in  the  city  itself,  on  the  feast  of  St. 
Leodegar.  Men  were  to  come  from  Obwalden  and  help : 
the  avoyer,  council  and  hundred  were  to  be  sent  to  the 
other  world,  towers  and  walls  to  be  thrown  down,  Lucerne 
to  become  a  beautiful  village,  Entlibuch  a  free  state.  Such 
was  their  plan.  The  Lucerners  heard  of  it,  because  Peter 
betrayed  himself  by  imprudent  talk.  He  was  seized  and 
imprisoned ;  forced  to  confess  everything,  and  beheaded. 

This  happened  at  the  time  (1481)  when  all  the  Confede- 
rates and  with  them  deputies  from  St.  Gallen  and  Appen- 
zell,  Solothurn  and  Freiburg,  were  assembled  in  diet  at 
Stanz  in  Nidwalden.  There  the  suspicions  and  distrust 
between  all  the  cantons  broke  forth,  on  occasion  of  the  di- 
vision of  the  Burgundian  booty,  the  admission  of  the  two 
cities  into  the  Confederacy,  and  many  other  matters.  The 
three  primitive  cantons,  Uri,  Schwyz  and  Unterwalden,  ut- 
tered such  terrible  threats  against  the  cities,  and  Lucerne 
and  the  cities  were  so  enraged  against  the  three  cantons, 
that  the  Freiburgers  and  Solothurners  voluntarily  "and 
modestly  withdrew  their  application,  and  a  report  was 
spread  through  all  the  land  that  the  sword  would  be  re- 
sorted to,  and  that  the  Confederacy  must  be  dissolved. 

This  report  terrified  the  pastor  of  Stanz,  Henry  Irngrund, 
a  zealous  Confederate.  He  seized  his  walking-staff,  and 
hurried  to  the  wilderness  of  Raufttobel,  to  announce  this 
misfortune  to  the  pious  brother  Nicholas  Lowenbrugger. 
This  pious  man,  who  was  also  called  "  von  der  Flue"  from 
the  rock  near  Saxeln  in  Obwalden,  on  which  he  dwelt,  had 


-1489.]         THE  COVENANT  OF  STANZ.          117 

already  lived  several  years  in  the  solitude  of  this  wilder- 
ness, engaged  in  prayer  and  the  contemplation  of  heavenly 
things.  He  was  revered  for  his  devotion  throughout  the 
whole  country.  It  was  said  of  him:  that  he  had  lived 
many  years  without  food  or  nourishment,  except  that  he 
partook  monthly  of  the  holy  supper.  He  slept  in  a  narrow 
cell  upon  hard  boards,  a  stone  serving  him  for  a  pillow. 
His  wife,  with  whom  he  had  had  five  sons  and  five  daugh- 
ters, lived  above  on  the  mountain  on  his  farm.  He  had 
formerly  shown  himself  a  courageous  and  humane  soldier, 
in  the  war  of  Thurgau. 

As  soon  as  Nicholas  von  der  Flue  heard  of  the  discord  of 
the  Confederates  from  the  pastor  of  Stanz,  he  left  his  her- 
mitage, went  to  Stanz,  and  entered  the  hall  where  the  coun- 
cil-lords were  assembled.  All  rose  from  their  seats  at  the 
appearance  of  the  venerable  old  man,  of  tall  spare  form, 
but  still  youthful  vigor.  He  spoke  to  them  with  the  dig- 
nity of  a  divine  messenger,  and  exhorted  them  to  peace 
and  concord  in  the  name  of  that  God  who  had  given  so 
many  victories  to  them  and  their  fathers.  "You  have  be- 
come strong,"  said  he,  "  by  the  power  of  your  united  arms  ; 
will  you  now  separate  for  the  sake  of  vile  booty  ?  Beware 
lest  neighboring  nations  perceive  this  !  Cities  !  insist  not 
on  burgher-rights  which  wound  the  old  Confederates! 
Cantons !  remember  how  Freiburg  and  Solothurn  have 
fought  by  your  side !  Receive  them  into  the  bond.  But, 
Confederates  !  enlarge  not  too  much  the  hedge  which  en- 
closes you.  Have  nothing  to  do  with  foreign  quarrels! 
Beware  of  all  party-spirit!  Far  from  every  one  be  the 
thought  of  accepting  gold  as  the  price  of  his  fatherland." 

'This  and  more  said  Nicholas  von  der  Flue,  and  all 
hearts  were  so  touched  and  moved  by  the  words  of  the 
holy  hermit  that  in  a  single  hour  all  was  settled.  In  the 
same  day  Solothurn  and  Freiburg  joined  in  the  perpetual 
bond  of  the  Confederates.  This  was  on  Saturday,  20  De- 
cember, 1481.  In  the  covenant  of  Stanz,  then  concluded, 
they  ratified  all  the  ancient  compacts,  as  well  as  the  Pfaf- 
fenbrief  (an  edict  of  1381  against  the  encroachments  of 
the  priests)  and  the  convention  of  Sempach,  and  accepted 
the  proposition  of  pious  Nicholas  to  divide  among  the  can- 


118  REVOLT  OF  THE  [1478- 

tons  all  territory  conquered  in  war,  and  all  booty  among 
the  troops.  It  was  also  agreed  that,  without  consent  and 
authorization  of  his  lords  and  magistrates,  no  one  should 
assemble  the  communes  and  make  important  propositions. 
But  if  the  subjects  of  one  canton  should  rise  against  their 
magistrates,  all  the  other  cantons  were  to  aid  in  compelling 
the  discontented  to  return  to  their  duty. 

This  done,  the  hermit  returned  to  his  solitude,  each 
deputy  to  his  canton.  Joy  prevailed  everywhere.  From 
all  the  church-towers  the  solemn  sound  of  bells  announced 
the  general  satisfaction,  from  the  Alps  to  the  Jura. 

But  the  concord  reestablished  at  Stanz  did  not  restore 
the  ancient  discipline  and  habits  of  the  Confederates.  Cu- 
pidity and  haughtiness  increased  among  the  city-authori- 
ties, venality  among  the  magistrates,  rudeness  in  the  com- 
munes, dissipation  and  the  taste  for  robbery  among  the 
people.  The  law  was  too  often  but  a  deceitful  web, 
through  which  the  rich  passed  unscathed,  but  in  which 
the  poor  man  was  taken.  And  justice,  when  she  had 
slumbered  too  long,  frequently  woke  in  bloodthirsty 
anger.  In  only  three  months  of  the  year  1480,  nearly 
fifteen  hundred  assassins  and  robbers  were  condemned  by 
the  tribunals  of  Switzerland.  In  the  diet  of  Baden  it  was 
decided  that  whoever  stole  the  value  of  a  rope  should  be 
hanged  without  mercy.  The  emigration  to  foreign  wars 
was  continuous.  Young  men  frequently  marched  forth, 
by  hundreds  and  thousands,  with  musicians  at  their  head, 
over  the  Rhine  and  over  the  mountains,  to  follow  the 
standards  of  kings,  and  to  find  booty,  or  death.  Neither 
was  there  any  lack  of  wars  in  the  neighborhood.  In  one 
single  year  (1487),  there  were  four  wars  on  the  side  of  It- 
aly :  of  the  Grisons  against  Milan ;  of  the  Grisons  and 
Confederates  near  Roveredo  against  Venice ;  of  the  Va- 
laisians  against  Milan  ;  of  the  Bernese  and  other  western 
Swiss  for  the  duke  of  Savoy  against  the  Piedmontese  near 
Saluzzo. 

Internal  dissensions  and  troubles,  also,  were  not  want- 
ing. The  nobles  and  priests  in  Zurich,  who  were  mortal 
enemies  of  wise  and  valiant  John  Waldmann,  burgomaster 
of  this  city,  because  he  sought  to  restrain  them,  excited 


-1489.]  SUBJECTS   OF  ZURICH.  119 

the  burghers  and  country-people  against  him  by  their 
talk,  called  him  a  tyrant  who  made  laws  on  his  own  au- 
thority and  trod  under  foot  the  ancient  rights.  John 
Waldmann  was  the  son  of  a  peasant  of  Blikestorf  in  Zug  ; 
he  came  to  Zurich  as  a  tanner,  there  raised  himself  by  his 
great  talents  and  courage,  acquired  glory  as  the  victorious 
hero  of  Morat  and  Nancy,  and  was  highly  esteemed  by 
Confederates  and  princes.  But  the  Confederates  com- 
plained of  his  friendship  for  Austria  and  Milan,  the  Zu- 
richers  of  his  haughtiness  and  abuse  of  power.  This  did 
not  restrain  the  burgomaster ;  and  woe  to  any  one  who 
opposed  him  in  word  or  deed  !  When  Frischhans  Theilig 
of  Lucerne,  the  heroic  warrior  of  Giornico,  who  had  often 
blamed  Waldmann's  partiality  for  Milan,  came  to  Zurich 
one  day  with  cloth  for  sale,  Waldmann  caused  him  to  be 
seized  and  beheaded,  though  Lucerne  begged  earnestly  for 
the  life  of  her  hero. 

Such  arrogance  excited  public  indignation  against  this 
man  so  rich  in  the  gifts  of  nature,  and  at  last  occasioned 
his  ruin.  His  enemies  directed  against  him  the  discontent 
of  the  country-people  on  the  lake  of  Zurich,  when  the 
communes  of  Maila  and  Herrliberg  rose  first  and  were 
shortly  followed  by  several  of  the  lake- villages,  who  com- 
plained of  the  severity  of  the  laws  and  numerous  vexa- 
tions. The  peasants  from  the  lake  came  with  arms  to  the 
walls  of  Zurich  and  said :  "  Remember,  lords>  how  you 
promised  in  the  Wasserkirche,  after  the  war  of  Zurich, 
that  you  would  impose  no  new  tax  upon  us !"  Thither 
came,  also,  deputies  from  the  Confederates,  as  mediators, 
according  to  the  agreement  of  the  recent  Diet,  and  declared 
that  the  complaints  of  the  communes  should  be  examined 
into  and  the  people  tranquillized.  But  Waldmann,  who 
thought  that  the  honor  of  the  city  was  compromised  by 
this  declaration,  caused  the  city-recorder  to  alter  the 
sentence  to  the  effect  that  the  peasants,  having  made  un- 
founded complaints,  were  humbly  to  ask  pardon  for  their 
injustice,  and  to  have  their  grievances  examined  into  at 
the  first  fitting  opportunity. 

As  soon  as  this  falsification  of  the  sentence  became 
known,  there  was  a  fresh  rising  against  the  city  and  dis- 


CONVENTION   OF  WALDMANN.  [1490- 

tnrbances  within  tlie  walls,  so  that  the  burgomaster  no 
longer  went  forth  without  his  armor,  and  slept  in  the  coun- 
cil-house. But  woe  to  that  magistrate  who  requires  other 
arms  for  his  defence  than  the  love  of  the  people.  Burgo- 
master and  knight  Waldmann  was  seized  in  a  tumult, 
with  his  adherents,  carried  to  the  Wellenberg,  tortured  and 
beheaded  (6th  April,  1489).  Waldmann  was  indeed  crim- 
inal, but  the  furious  party-rage  against  him  was  not  less  so. 

On  the  day  of  his  death,  the  magistrates  and  subjects  of 
Zurich,  as  equal  parties,  appeared  before  the  tribunal  of 
the  Confederates,  and  the  latter  succeeded  in  reconciling 
both  by  what  was  called  the  convention  of  Waldmann.  It 
enjoined  on  the  people  of  the  country  to  submit  loyally  and 
sincerely  to  the  burgomaster,  councillors  and  great-coun- 
cil of  the  city  of  Zurich,  but  secured  to  them  the  right 
of  carrying  their  merchandise  to  what  market  they  pleased ; 
of  establishing  themselves  wherever  they  chose ;  of  exerci- 
sing handicrafts  in  the  villages ;  of  cultivating  the  vine  and 
managing  their  lands  to  their  liking;  of  choosing  a  sub -bail  iff 
for  themselves  in  the  lake-communes,  and  many  other  priv- 
ileges. In  case  the  city  of  Zurich  attempted  to  exercise  any 
illegal  power  over  the  people  on  the  lake,  then  two  or  three 
parishes  were  to  assemble  and  deliberate,  and  ten  or  twenty 
deputies  from  each  parish  were  to  carry  their  complaints  be- 
fore the  Confederates  at  Zurich,  in  order  to  obtain  justice. 

This  convention  was  sealed  by  the  seven  cantons  of  the 
Confederacy,  as  mediators  and  sureties,  on  9th  May,  1489. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

THE    SUABIAN   WAR.       FORMATION    OF     THE     CONFEDERACY     OF     THB 
THIRTEEN    CANTONS. 

[A.  D.  1490  to  1500.] 

WHEN,  in  any  country,  the  spirit  of  party  prevails  over 
truth,  and  power  over  justice,  then  farewell  peace  1  fare- 
well liberty  !  Such  was  the  lot  of  Zurich  after  the  execu- 


-1500.]  EMPEROR   MAXIMILIAN.  121 

tion  of  John  Waldmann.  By  the  convention  of  Waldmann, 
the  city  lost  much  of  the  ancient  respect  of  her  subjects, 
and  troubles  which  endured  for  centuries  were  originated. 
The  enemies  of  Waldmann,  seated  in  the  council,  posses- 
sors and  dissipators  of  his  wealth,  persecutors  of  his  parti- 
sans, surpassed  him  in  tyranny  and  injustice.  Their 
arbitrary  government  desolated  the  country.  This  gov- 
ernment was  called  the  "  council  of  horn ;"  its  hardness 
caused  Waldmann  to  be  much  regretted. 

In  St.  Gallen,  also,  discord  again  prevailed  between  the 
city  and  the  abbot.  When  the  latter  began  to  build  a  new 
convent  on  his  own  estate  and  territory  at  Rorschach,  the 
people  of  St.  Gallen  were  irritated.  The  Appenzellers, 
never  friends  to  the  abbot,  hastened  to  their  assistance ; 
even  the  abbey-people  declared  in  favor  of  the  citizens. 
The  convent  was  destroyed.  Then  the  abbot  cried  for 
help  to  the  four  cantons,  protectors  of  the  abbey ;  Zurich, 
Lucerne,  Schwyz  and  Glarus  came  and  restored  peace  by 
force  of  arms  (1490).  This  cost  St.  Gallen  a  great  deal  of 
money,  and  Appenzell  lost,  for  war-expenses,  the  Rhein- 
thal  and  a  part  of  the  signiory  of  Sax,  which  the  protect- 
ing cantons  retained,  and  in  the  government  of  which  they 
associated  Uri,  Unterwalden  and  Zug,  afterwards  Appen- 
zell (1501)  and  finally  (1712)  Berne  also.  Such  conquests 
of  Confederates  from  Confederates  made  bad  blood. 

Fortunately  danger  and  trouble  soon  appeared  from 
abroad.  This  united  them  all  anew,  and  was  therefore 
salutary. 

Maximilian  I.  of  Austria  was  emperor  of  Germany.  He 
had  received  from  France  the  country  of  Lower  Burgundy, 
and,  to  hold  it  more  securely,  incorporated  it  with  the 
German  empire,  as  a  single  circle.  He  wished  to  make 
Switzerland,  also,  such  a  German  imperial  circle.  The 
Confederates  refused,  preferring  to  remain  by  themselves 
as  they  had  been  until  then.  In  Suabia,  the  existing  states 
had  formed  a  league  among  themselves  for  the  suppression 
of  small  wars  and  feuds.  This  pleased  the  politic  empe- 
ror ;  by  becoming  an  associate,  he  placed  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  league,  which  he  was  able  to  direct  for  the 
aggrandisement  of  his  house  of  Austria.  He  desired  that 
6  L 


122  TYROL  AND  ENGADINE.  [1490- 

the  Confederates,  also,  should  enter  the  Suabian  league. 
The  Swiss  again  refused,  preferring  to  remain  by  them- 
selves as  before. 

The  emperor  was  irritated  at  this,  and,  at  Innspruch,  he 
said  to  the  deputies  of  the  Confederates :  "  You  are  refrac- 
tory members  of  the  empire;  some  day  I  shall  have  to  pay 
you  a  visit,  sword  in  hand."  The  deputies  answered  and 
said :  "  We  humbly  beseech  your  imperial  majesty  to  dis- 
pense with  such  a  visit,  for  our  Swiss  are  rude  men,  and  do 
not  even  respect  crowns." 

The  boldness  of  the  Confederates  wounded  the  Suabian 
league  no  less.  Many  provocations  and  quarrels  took 
place,  here  and  there,  between  the  people  on  the  borders, 
so  that  the  city  of  Constance,  for  her  own  security,  joined 
the  Suabian  league.  For,  one  day,  a  band  of  valiant  men 
of  Thurgau,  incited  by  the  bailiff  from  Uri,  had  tried  to 
surprise  the  city,  in  order  to  punish  her  for  her  bravadoes 
against  the  Swiss. 

Neither  were  the  Austrians  good  neighbors  to  the  Gri- 
sons.  The  Tyrol  and  Engadine  were  constantly  discussing 
and  disputing  about  markets,  privileges  and  tolls.  Once, 
indeed,  (1476)  the  Tyrolese  had  marched  armed  into  the 
valley  of  Engadine,  but  were  driven  back  into  their  own 
country  through  the  narrow  pass  of  Finstermunz,  with 
bloody  heads.  Now  there  was  a  fresh  cause  of  quarrel. 
In  the  division  of  the  Toggenburger-inheritance,  the  rights 
of  Toggenburg  in  the  Ten  Jurisdictions  had  fallen  to  the 
counts  of  Matsch,  Sax  and  Montfort,  and  afterwards  (1478 
and  1489),  by  purchase,  to  the  ducal  house  of  Austria. 
Hence  much  trouble  arose. 

As  the  Grisons  had  equal  cause  with  the  Confederates  to 
fear  the  power  and  purposes  of  emperor  Maximilian,  the 
Grey  league  (1497)  and  that  of  God's-house  (1498)  made  a 
friendly  and  defensive  alliance  with  Zurich,  Lucerne,  Uri, 
Schwyz,  Unterwalden,  Zug  and  Glarus.  The  Ten  Juris- 
dictions dared  not  join  them  for  fear  of  Austria. 

Then  the  emperor  restrained  his  anger  no  longer.  And, 
though  already  burdened  with  a  heavy  war  in  the  Nether- 
lands, he  sent  fresh  troops  into  the  Tyrol,  and  the  forces 
of  the  Suabian  league  advanced  and  hemmed  in  Switzer- 


-1500.]  SWITZERLAND   IN    DANGER.  123 

land  from  the  Grison  pass  near  Luziensteig  (between  the 
Rhetian  mountains  and  Germany)  along  the  lake  of  Con- 
stance and  the  Rhine,  as  far  as  Bale. 

Then  Switzerland  and  Rhetia  were  in  great  danger.  But 
the  Grisons  rose  courageously  to  defend  their  freedom,  as 
did  all  the  Confederates.  The  Sargansers,  also,  and  the 
Appenzellers  hastened  to  the  Schollenberg ;  the  banners 
of  Valais,  Bale  and  Schaffhausen  soon  floated  in  view  of 
the  enemy.  No  man  stayed  at  home. 

It  was  in  February,  1499,  that  the  strife  began.  Then 
eight  thousand  imperialists  entered  the  Grison  territory  of 
Munsterthal  and  Engadine ;  Louis  of  Brandis,  the  empe- 
ror's general,  with  several  thousand  men,  surprised  and 
held  the  pass  of  Luziensteig,  and,  by  the  treachery  of  four 
burghers,  the  little  city  of  Maienfeld.  But  the  Grisons  re- 
took the  Luziensteig ;  eight  hundred  Suabians  here  found 
their  death ;  the  rest  fled  to  Balzers.  Then  the  Confede- 
rates passed  the  Rhine  near  Azmoos,  and,  with  the  Grisons, 
obtained  a  great  victory  near  Treisen.  The  Suabian  no- 
bility, with  ten  thousand  soldiers,  were  posted  near  St. 
John's  at  Hochst  and  Hard,  between  Bregenz  and  Fussach. 
Eight  thousand  Confederates  killed  nearly  half  of  the 
enemy's  army,  ascended  as  far  as  the  forests  of  Bregenz,  and 
imposed  contributions  on  the  country.  Ten  thousand  other 
Confederates  passed  victorious  over  the  Hegau,  and  in 
eight  days,  burnt  twenty  villages,  hamlets  and  castles. 
Skirmish  followed  quickly  upon  skirmish,  battle  upon 
battle. 

The  enemy,  indeed,  issuing  from  Constance,  succeeded 
in  surprising  the  Confederate  garrison  of  Ermatingen  while 
asleep,  and  in  murdering,  in  their  beds,  sixty-three  defence- 
less men.  But  they  bloodily  expiated  this  in  the  wood  of 
Schwaderlochs,  whence  eighteen  thousand  of  them,  van- 
quished by  two  thousand  Confederates,  fled  in  such  haste 
that  the  city-gates  of  Constance  were  too  narrow  for  the  fu- 
gitives, and  the  number  of  their  dead  exceeded  that  of  the 
Swiss  opposed  to  them.  A  body  of  Confederates,  on  the 
upper  Rhine,  penetrated  into  Wallgau,  where  the  enemy 
were  entrenched  near  Frastenz,  and,  fourteen  thousand 
strong,  feared  not  the  valor  of  the  Swiss.  But  when  Henry 


124  BENEDICT  FONTANA.  [1490- 

"Wolleb,  the  hero  of  Uri,  had  passed  the  Langengasterberg, 
with  two  thousand  brave  men,  and  turned  the  strong  en- 
trenchment, his  heroic  death  was  the  signal  of  victory  to 
the  Confederates.  They  rushed  under  the  thunder  of  ar- 
tilley  into  the  ranks  of  Austria,  and  dealt  their  fearful 
blows.  Three  thousand  dead  bodies  covered  the  battle- 
field of  Frastenz.  Such  Austrians  as  were  left  alive  fled 
in  terror  through  woods  and  waters.  Then  each  Swiss 
fought  as  though  victory  depended  on  his  single  arm ;  for 
Switzerland  and  Swiss  glory,  each  flew  joyously  to  meet 
danger  and  death,  and  counted  not  the  number  of  the  en- 
emy. And  wherever  a  Swiss  banner  floated,  there  was 
more  than  one  like  John  Wala  of  Glarus,  who,  near  Gams 
in  Kheinthal,  measured  himself  singly  with  thirty  horse- 
men. 

The  Grisons,  also,  fought  with  no  less  glory.  Witness 
the  Malserhaide  in  Tyrol,  where  fifteen  thousand  men,  un- 
der Austrian  banners,  behind  strong  entrenchments,  were 
attacked  by  only  eight  thousand  Grisons.  The  ramparts 
were  turned,  the  entrenchments  stormed.  Benedict  Fon- 
tana  was  first  on  the  enemy's  wall.  He  had  cleared  the 
way.  With  his  left  hand  holding  the  wide  wound  from 
which  his  entrails  protruded,  he  fought  with  his  .right  and 
cried:  "Forward,  now,  fellow-leaguers!  let  not  my  fall 
stop  you !  It  is  but  one  man  the  less !  To-day  you  must 
save  your  free  fatherland  and  your  free  leagues.  If  you 
are  conquered,  you  leave  your  children  in  everlasting 
slavery."  So  said  Fontana  and  died.  The  Malserhaide 
was  full  of  Austrian  dead.  Nearly  five  thousand  fell. 
The  Grisons  had  only  two  hundred  killed  and  seven  hun- 
dred wounded. 

When  emperor  Maximilian,  in  the  Netherlands,  heard 
of  so  many  battles  lost,  he  came  and  reproached  his  gen- 
erals, and  said  to  the  princes  of  the  German  empire: 
"  Send  to  me  auxiliaries  against  the  Swiss,  so  bold  as  to 
have  attacked  the  empire.  For  these  rude  peasants,  in 
whom  there  is  neither  virtue,  nor  noble  blood,  nor  mag- 
nanimity, but  who  are  full  of  coarseness,  pride,  perfidy  and 
hatred  of  the  German  nation,  have  drawn  into  their  party 
many  hitherto  faithful  subjects  of  the  empire." 


-1500.]  SWISS  VALOR.  125 

But  the  princes  of  the  empire  delayed  to  send  auxilia- 
ries, and  the  emperor  then  learnt,  with  increasing  horror, 
that  his  army,  sent  over  the  Engadine  mountains  to  sup- 
press the  Grison  league,  had  been  destroyed  in  midsum- 
mer by  avalanches,  famine,  and  the  masses  of  rock  which 
the  Grisons  threw  down  from  the  mountains ;  then,  that  on 
the  woody  height  of  Bruderholz,  not  far  from  Bale,  one 
thousand  Swiss  had  vanquished  more  than  four  thousand 
of  their  enemies;  that,  shortly  after,  in  the  same  region, 
near  Dornach,  six  thousand  Confederates  had  obtained  a 
brilliant  victory  over  fifteen  thousand  Austrians,  killing 
three  thousand  men,  with  their  general,  Henry  of  Furst- 
enberg.  Then  the  emperor  reflected  that,  within  eight 
months,  the  Swiss  had  been  eight  times  victorious  in  eight 
battles.  And  he  decided  to  end  a  war  in  which  more  than 
twenty  thousand  men  had  already  fallen,  and  nearly  two 
thousand  villages,  hamlets,  castles  and  cities  been  de- 
stroyed. 

Peace  was  negotiated  and  concluded  on  22d  Septem- 
ber, 1499,  in  the  city  of  Bale.  The  emperor  acknowledged 
the  ancient  rights  and  the  conquests  of  the  Confederates, 
and  granted  to  them,  moreover,  the  ordinary  jurisdiction 
over  Thurgau,  which,  with  the  criminal  jurisdiction  and 
other  sovereign  rights,  had,  until  then,  belonged  to  the 
city  of  Constance.  Thenceforward  the  emperors  thought 
no  more  of  dissolving  the  Confederacy,  or  of  incorporating 
it  with  the  German  empire.  In  the  fields  of  Frastenz,  of 
Malserhaide  and  Dornach,  were  laid  the  first  foundation- 
stones  of  Swiss  independence  of  foreign  power. 

The  confederated  cantons  thankfully  acknowledged 
what  Bale  and  Schaffhausen  had  constantly  done  in  these 
heroic  days  for  the  whole  Confederacy,  and  that  warlike 
Appenzell  had  never  been  backward  at  the  call  of  glory 
and  liberty.  Therefore,  Bale  (9th  June,  1501)  and  flour- 
ishing Schaffhausen  (9th  August,  1501)  were  received  into 
the  perpetual  Swiss  bond,  and  finally  (1513)  Appenzell, 
already  united  in  perpetual  alliance  with  most  of  the  can- 
tons, was  acknowledged  as  coequal  with  all  the  Confed- 
erates. 

Thus,  in  the  205th  year  after  the  deed  of  William  Tell, 


126  SERFDOM   OF  THE   PEOPLE.  [1500- 

the  Confederacy  of  the  Thirteen  Cantons  was  completed. 
But  Valais  and  Grisons  were  considered  as  cantons  allied 
to  the  Confederacy,  as  were  St.  Gallon,  Muhlhausen, 
Eothweil  in  Suabia,  and  other  cities :  all  free  places,  sub- 
ject to  no  prince,  united  with  the  Swiss  by  a  defensive 
alliance. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

THE     SAVAGE     MANNERS    AND     MERCENARY     WARS     OF     THE     SWISS  ; 
THEY    CONQUER    VALTELINA    AND    THE    ITALIAN    BAILIWICKS. 

[A.  D.  1500  to  1525.] 

AT  that  period,  the  thirteen  cantons  of  the  Swiss  Con- 
federacy were  not  yet,  as  now,  equal  in  virtue  of  the  bond, 
nor  bound  together  directly  by  one  and  the  same  covenant. 
They  were  properly  united  only  with  the  three  cantons  of 
Uri,  Schwyz  and  tlnterwalden,  as  with  a  common  centre, 
but  among  themselves  by  special  treaties.  Each  canton 
was  attentive  to  its  own  interests  and  glory,  seldom  to 
those  of  the  others,  or  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole  Confed- 
eracy. Fear  pf  the  ambition  and  power  of  neighboring 
lords  and  princes  had  drawn  them  together  more  and  more. 
So  long  as  this  fear  lasted,  their  union  was  strong. 

As  the  governments  were  independent  of  each  other,  so 
far  as  their  covenants  allowed,  and  of  foreign  princes  also, 
they  called  themselves  free  Swiss.  But  within  the  country 
districts  there  was  little  freedom  for  the  people.  Only  in 
the  shepherd-cantons  (Uri,  Schwyz  and  Unterwalden,  also 
Zug,  Glarus  and  Appenzell)  did  the  country-people  pos- 
sess equal  rights,  and  in  the  city-cantons,  only  the  burghers 
of  the  cities ;  and  often,  even  among  these  latter,  only  a 
few  rich  or  ancient  families.  The  rest  of  the  people,  de- 
pendent on  the  cities,  having  been  either  purchased  or 
conquered,  were  subjects,  often  indeed  serfs,  and  enjoyed 
only  the  limited  rights  which  they  had  formerly  possessed 
under  the  counts  and  princes.  Even  the  shepherd-cantons 
held  subjects,  whom  they,  like  princes,  governed  by  their 


-1525.]  GENERAL  DEMORALIZATION".  127 

% 

bailiffs.  And  the  Confederate-cantons  and  cities  would  by 
no  means  allow  their  subjects  to  purchase  their  freedom,  as 
the  old  counts  and  lords  had  formerly  permitted  the  Con- 
federates themselves  to  do. 

But  the  people  cared  little  for  liberty ;  made  rude  and 
savage  by  continual  wars,  they  loved  only  quarrels  and 
combats,  revels  and  debauchery.  When  there  was  no  war 
in  their  own  country,  the  young  men,  greedy  of  booty, 
followed  foreign  drums,  and  fought  the  battles  of  princes 
for  hire.  There  were  no  good  schools  in  the  villages,  and 
the  clergy  cared  little  for  this.  Indeed,  the  morals  of  the 
clergy  were  often  no  less  depraved  than  those  of  the  citi- 
zens and  country-people ;  even  in  the  convents  great  dis- 
orders frequently  prevailed  with  great  wealth.  Many  of 
the  priests  were  very  ignorant ;  many  gambled,  drank  and 
blasphemed ;  many  led  shameless  lives. 

In  the  chief  cities  of  the  cantons,  debauchery  and  dissi- 
pation were  rife.  There  was  much  division  between  citi- 
zens and  councillors ;  envy  and  distrust  between  the  dif- 
ferent professions.  The  lords,  when  once  seated  in  the 
great  and  small  councils  (legislative  and  executive),  cared 
more  for  themselves  and  their  families  than  for  the  welfare 
of  the  citizens ;  they  endeavored  to  advance  their  sons  and 
relatives,  and  to  procure  lucrative  offices  for  them.  In  all 
the  cantons,  there  were,  certainly,  some  great,  patriotic 
souls,  who  preferred  the  interests  of  their  country  to  their 
own,  but  no  one  listened  to  them. 

As  Switzerland  had  now  no  foreign  wars  to  fear,  and 
the  neighboring  kings  and  princes  were  pleased  to  have  in 
their  armies  Swiss,  for  whose  life  and  death  they  cared 
much  less  than  for  the  life  and  death  of  their  own  subjects: 
the  principal  families  of  the  city-  and  country-cantons  took 
advantage  of  these  circumstances  to  open  fountains  of 
wealth  for  themselves.  The  desire  of  the  kings  to  enlist 
valiant  Swiss  favored  the  avidity  of  the  council -lords,  as 
did  the  wish  of  the  young  men  to  get  booty.  In  spite  of 
the  positive  prohibition  of  the  magistrates,  thousands  of 
young  men  often  enlisted  in  foreign  service,  where  most 
of  them  perished  miserably,  because  no  one  cared  for  them. 
Therefore  the  governments  judged  it  best  to  make  treaties 


128  LOVE   OF   MONEY.  [1500- 

with  the  kings  for  the  raising  of  Swiss  regiments,  com- 
manded by  national  officers,  subject  to  their  own  laws  and 
regularly  paid,  so  that  each  government  could  take  care 
of  its  subjects  when  abroad.  "  Confederates !  you  require 
a  vent  for  your  energies,"  had  Rudolf  Reding  of  Schwyz 
already  said,  when,  years  before,  he  saw  the  free  life  of  the 
young  men  after  the  Burgundian  war. 

Now  began  the  letting  out  of  Swiss,  Orisons  and  Valais- 
ians,  to  foreign  military  service,  by  their  governments. 
The  first  treaty  of  this  nature  was  made  by  the  king  of 
France  (1479  and  1480)  with  the  Confederates  in  Lucerne. 
Next  the  house  of  Austria  hired  mercenaries  (1499) ;  the 
princes  of  Italy  did  the  same,  as  did  others  afterwards. 
Even  the  popes  themselves  wanted  a  life-guard  of  Swiss ; 
the  first  (1503)  was  pope  Julius  II.,  who  was  often  engaged 
in  war. 

Switzerland  suffered  much  from  this  course.  Many  a 
field  remained  untilled,  many  a  plough  stood  still,  because 
the  husbandman  had  taken  mercenary  arms.  And,  if  he 
returned  alive,  he  brought  back  foreign  diseases  and  vices, 
and  corrupted  the  innocent  by  evil  example,  for  he  had 
acquired  but  little  virtue  in  the  wars.  Only  the  sons  of 
the  patricians  and  council-lords  obtained  captaincies,  com- 
mands and  riches,  by  which  they  increased  their  influence 
and  consideration  in  the  land,  and  could  oppress  others. 
They  prided  themselves  on  the  titles  of  nobility  and  deco- 
rations conferred  by  kings,  and  imagined  these  to  be  of 
value,  and  that  they  themselves  were  more  than  other 
Swiss. 

When  the  kings  perceived  the  cupidity  and  folly  of  the 
Swiss,  they  took  advantage  of  them  for  their  own  profit, 
sent  embassadors  into  Switzerland,  distributed  presents, 
granted  gratifications  and  pensions  to  their  partisans  in  the 
councils,  and  for  these  the  council-lords  became  willing 
servants  of  foreign  princes.  Then  one  canton  was  French, 
another  Milanese ;  one  Venetian,  another  Spanish  ;  but 
rarely  was  one  Swiss.  This  redounded  greatly  to  the 
shame  of  the  Swiss.  When  the  German  emperor  and  the 
king  of  France  were,  at  the  same  time,  canvassing  the 
favor  of  the  cantons  and  bargaining  in  competition  for 


-1525.]  CARDINAL   SCHINNER.  129 

troops,  so  great  was  the  contempt  or  insolence  of  the 
French  embassador  at  Berne  (1516),  that  he  distributed 
the  royal  pensions  to  the  lords  by  sound  of  trumpet ;  at 
Freiburg,  he  poured  out  silver  crowns  upon  the  ground, 
and,  while  he  heaped  them  up  with  a  shovel,  said  to  the 
bystanders  :  "  Does  not  this  silver  jingle  better  than  the 
emperor's  empty  words  ?"  So  much  had  love  of  money 
debased  the  Swiss. 

-  The  twelve  cantons,  Appenzell  being  the  only  excep- 
tion, were  at  one  moment  allied  with  Milan  against  France, 
at  the  next,  with  France  against  Milan.  Milan  was  right- 
ly called  the  Schwyzer's  grave.  It  was  not  unusual  for 
Confederates  to  fight  against  Confederates  on  foreign  soil, 
and  to  kill  each  other  for  hire.  The  ecclesiastical  lord, 
Matthew  Schinner,  bishop  of  Sion  in  Valais,  a  very  deceit- 
ful man,  helped  greatly  to  occasion  this.  According  as  he 
was  hired,  he  intrigued  in  Switzerland,  sometimes  for  the 
king  of  France,  sometimes  against  France  for  the  pope, 
who,  in  payment,  even  made  him  cardinal  and  embassador  • 
to  the  Confederacy. 

The  mercenary  wars  of  the  Swiss  upon  foreign  battle- 
fields were  not  wars  for  liberty  or  for  honor ;  but  these 
hirelings  of  princes  maintained  their  reputation  for  valor 
even  there.  With  the  aid  of  several  thousand  Confederates 
the  king  of  France  subjected  the  whole  of  Lombardy  in 
the  space  of  twenty  days.  But  the  expelled  duke  of  the 
country  soon  returned  with  five  thousand  Swiss,  whom  he 
had  enlisted  contrary  to  the  will  of  the  magistracy,  to 
drive  out  trie  French.  Then  the  king  of  France  received 
twenty  thousand  men  from  the  cantons  with  whom  he  was 
allied ;  maintained  himself  in  Italy,  and  gave  to  the  three 
cantons,  Uri,  Schwyz  and  Unterwalden  (1502  and  1503), 
the  districts  of  Palenza,  Eiviera  and  Bellenz.  But,  as 
soon  as  the  king  thought  he  could  do  without  the  Swiss, 
he  paid  them  badly  and  irregularly.  Cardinal  Schinner, 
pleased  at  this,  immediately  shook  a  bag  of  gold,  with 
53,000  guilders,  in  favor  of  the  pope  and  of  Venice.  At 
once  (1512)  twenty  thousand  Swiss  and  Grisons  crossed 
the  high  Alps,  and  joined  the  Venetians  against  the  French. 
The  Grisons  took  possession  of  Valtelina,  Chiavenna  and 
6* 


130  FRANCIS   I.   OF  FRANCE.  [1500- 

Bormio.  They  asserted  that,  a  century  before,  an  ejected 
duke  of  Milan  had  ceded  these  valleys  to  the  bishopric  of 
Coire.  The  Confederates  of  the  twelve  cantons  subjected 
Lugano,  Locarno  and  Valmaggia.  The  French  were  driven 
out  of  Lombardy,  and  the  young  duke,  Maximilian  Sforza, 
son  of  him  who  had  been  dispossessed  by  them,  was  rein- 
stated in  his  father's  inheritance  at  Milan.  Victorious  for 
him,  the  Confederates  beat  the  French  near  Novara  (6th. 
June  1518);  two  thousand  Swiss  fell,  it  is  true,  but  ten 
thousand  of  the  enemy.  Still  more  murderous  was  the 
two  days'  battle  of  Marignano  (14th  Sept.  1515),  in  which 
barely  ten  thousand  Swiss  fought  against  fifty  thousand 
French.  They  lost  the  battle-field,  indeed,  but  not  their 
honor.  They  sadly  retreated  to  Milan,  with  their  field- 
pieces  on  their  backs,  their  wounded  in  the  centre  of  their 
army.  The  enemy  lost  the  flower  of  their  troops,  and 
called  this  action  "  the  battle  of  the  giants." 

Then  the  king  of  France,  Francis  I.,  terrified  by  a  vic- 
•tory  which  resembled  a  defeat,  made,  in  the  next  year,  a 
perpetual  peace  with  the  Confederates,  and,  by  money  and 
promises,  persuaded  some  to  furnish  him  with  troops,  the 
others,  that  they  would  allow  no  enrolling  by  his  enemies. 
Thus  the  Confederates  once  more  helped  him  against  the 
emperor  and  pope,  and  against  Milan,  and  the  king  con- 
cluded a  friendly  alliance  with  them  in  1521.  During 
many  years,  they  shed  their  blood  for  him  on  the  battle- 
fields of  Italy,  without  good  result,  without  advantage, 
except  that  the  Confederacy  stood  godmother  to  his  new- 
born son.  Each  canton  sent  to  Paris,  for  the  fete,  a  depu- 
ty with  a  baptismal  present  of  fifty  ducats.  More  agreea- 
ble to  the  king  than  this  present,  was  the  promptitude  with 
which  the  Swiss  sent  sixteen  thousand  of  their  troops  to 
his  assistance  in  Italy.  However,  as  they  had  lost  (20th 
April,  1522)  three  thousand  men  near  Bicocca ;  as  of  nearly 
fifteen  thousand  who  entered  Lombardy  (1524)  hardly  four 
thousand  came  back ;  as,  finally,  in  the  battle  near  Pa  via 
(24th  Feb.  1525)  in  which  the  king  himself  became  pris- 
oner to  the  emperor,  the  Swiss  experienced  a  fresh  loss  of 
seven  thousand  men,  they,  by  degrees,  lost  all  taste  for 
Italian  wars. 


-1619.]  REFORM  IN  THE  COUNCILS.  131 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

BEGINNING    OF   THE    RELIGIOUS    SCHISM    IN    SWITZERLAND. 
[A.  D.  1519  to  1527.] 

THE  mercenary  wars  in  Lombardy,  Naples,  France, 
Piedmont,  and  wherever  else  they  were  undertaken  for 
hire  and  presents,  had  also  some  good  results.  The  mili- 
tary glory  acquired  was,  indeed,  of  little  advantage  to  the 
country,  and  the  conquest  of  the  Italian  bailiwicks  of  more 
prejudice  than  profit.  For  the  Confederacy  gained  no 
strength  or  security  against  foreign  powers  by  the  acqui- 
sition of  this  small  territory  or  the  increased  number  of 
her  subjects,  but  was  made  weaker  by  internal  dissensions 
respecting  this  perilous  property,  while  the  sale  of  offices, 
the  bad  government,  the  corruption  of  justice,  made  her 
despicable  in  the  eyes  of  Europe.  The  avaricious  military 
leaders  and  bailiffs  were  the  only  gainers.  A  few  families 
were  made  rich  ;  the  subjects  poor  and  savage. 

The  good  results  of  these  campaigns  were,  that,  after  so 
many  losses  and  sacrifices,  the  Confederates  at  last  discov- 
ered that  it  was  not  good  for  them  to  mix  in  foreign  quar- 
rels, to  allow  foreign  embassadors  to  acquire  so  much  in- 
fluence over  the  cantons,  or  to  permit  the  magistrates  to 
receive  presents  and  pensions  from  princes.  Therefore 
several  cantons  forbade  the  open  or  secret  reception  of  such 
money,  and  decreed  that  no  member  of  a  free  government 
should  be  the  hireling  of  a  foreign  lord.  Even  the  com- 
mon people,  several  times,  gave  way  to  their  anger  against 
those  who,  for  the  silver  crowns  of  kings,  carried  on  a 
slave-trade  for  foreign  service,  and  betrayed  kings  and 
fatherland  equally.  Thus  there  was  a  great  rising  at  Lu- 
cerne (1513)  to  obtain  the  punishment  of  such  dealers  in 
human  flesh.  The  ominous  excitement  of  the  people  at  last 
became  so  general,  that  Lucerne,  Berne  and  Zurich  expelled 
from  their  councils  these  hated  eaters  of  men,  and  punished 
them  pecuniarily  and  capitally,  or  by  banishment.  After 
thousands  and  thousands  of  valiant  young  men  had  fallen 


132  SALE  OP  INDULGENCES.  [1519- 

in  distant  lands,  Switzerland  found  a  respite  from  her  dis- 
orders, the  governments  administered  the  laws  better, 
moderation  and  good  conduct  replaced  vicious  excesses. 
Many  cantons  undertook  this  reform  with  much  earnest- 
ness. 

At  this  time  there  were  many  learned  men  in  Switzer- 
land, particularly  among  the  clergy.  In  the  cities  were 
very  good  schools.  But  the  country-people  lived  in  the 
deepest  ignorance,  and  hardly  one  in  a  thousand  could 
read  or  write.  Hence  the  greater  part  of  the  people  had 
no  knowledge  of  religion,  especially  where  the  pastors 
neglected  to  give  them  truly  Christian  instruction.  This 
occasioned  great  evils ;  still  more,  when  the  clergy  pre- 
ferred to  keep  the  people  subservient  by  ignorance,  rather 
than  to  make  them  enlightened  and  pious ;  and  when, 
more  devoted  to  the  pleasures  of  the  world  than  to  heav- 
enly things,  they  unblushingly  gave  to  their  flocks  an  ex- 
ample of  cupidity,  debauchery,  drunkenness  and  gambling, 
instead  of  warning  them  from  such  vices. 

These  things  disgusted  all  persons  of  sound  mind  and 
good  heart,  especially  when  they  saw  that  the  most  vicious 
and  licentious  priests  and  monks  were  absolved  by  their 
superiors,  themselves  not  free  from  blame,  and  remained 
unpunished.  And  the  indignation  of  many,  both  laymen 
and  ecclesiastics,  was  excited  when  the  Dominicans,  at 
Berne,  having  recourse  to  the  vilest  fraud  for  the  vilest 
purposes,  played  upon  credulity  by  pretended  apparitions 
and  miracles,  so  that  a  poor  unfortunate,  named  Jetzer, 
became  almost  crazed  in  consequence. 

At  this  period  Leo  X.,  pope  of  Eome,  wishing  to  embel- 
lish his  capital  with  palaces  and  the  most  magnificent  of 
all  churches,  required  a  great  deal  of  money,  and  therefore 
instituted  the  sale  of  indulgences.  •  He  leased  this  traffic  in 
Switzerland  to  a  Franciscan  monk,  Bernardin  Samson. 
But  as  much  money  was  thereby  taken  from  the  country, 
the  civil  authorities  were  displeased,  and  not  unwillingly 
saw  an  opposition  excited  against  this  trade.  When  the 
pastor  of  Einsiedeln,  a  secular  ecclesiastic,  by  name  TJlrich 
Zwingli,  a  native  of  Wildhaus  in  Toggenburg,  preached 
publicly  against  the  pretence  of  offering  forgiveness  of  sins 


-1527.]  ULRICH  ZWINGLI.  188 

for  money,  even  the  bishop  of  Constance  displayed  no  anger. 

But  Zwingli  did  not  rest  here ;  he  warmly  attacked  the 
sins  and  vices  of  both  laymen  and  clergy.  Then  many 
opposed  him,  tried  to  reduce  him  to  silence.  But  he,  in- 
stead of  being  frightened,  became  bolder,  and  drew  hip  ar- 
guments from  the  word  of  God.  And  he  began  to  teach 
that  a  pure  life  and  religious  mind  were  more  pleasing  to 
the  Heavenly  Father  than  pilgrimages  and  macerations  of 
the  flesh,  and  that  the  bread  and  wine  in  the  holy  supper 
were  symbols  of  the  life  and  blood  of  Jesus.  He  also  re- 
pudiated the  mass,  the  doctrine  of  purgatory,  the  worship 
of  saints,  the  celibacy  of  priests,  and  many  other  things. 

Other  ecclesiastics,  among  whom  were  many  learned  and 
pious  men,  thought  like  Zwingli.  Especially  had  he  many 
followers  in  the  cities  of  Zurich,  Berne,  Bale,  Schaff  hausen, 
St.  Gallen,  Bienne,  Coire  and  others,  where  good  schools 
and  solid  information  prevailed.  And  when  Zwingli,  called 
to  Zurich,  on  the  1st  January  1519,  preached  there  publicly 
as  pastor,  the  people  embraced  his  doctrine  and  the  govern- 
ment gave  him  their  approbation  and  protection.  Many 
monastic  and  secular  ecclesiastics  in  Switzerland  followed 
his  example,  and  taught  and  preached  to  the  people  as  he 
did,  without  fear  of  man.  The  adherents  to  his  opinions 
were  numerous  everywhere. 

These  opinions  spread,  not  only  in  Switzerland  but  far 
over  Germany  also.  At  the  same  period,  a  learned  Augus- 
tine monk  of  Wittenberg,  Martin  Luther,  without  knowing 
any  thing  of  Zwingli,  preached  nearly  the  same  doctrine 
as  the  latter.  And,  as  in  Switzerland  many  magistrates 
became  followers  of  Zwingli,  so  in  Germany  and  Sweden 
and  Denmark  and  England,  kings  and  princes,  with  a 
large  portion  of  their  people,  embraced  Luther's  doctrines. 
Hence  his  followers  were  called  Lutherans.  In  Switzer- 
land, however,  the  new  church-party  adopted  no  man's 
name,  but  was  called  "evangelical-reformed;"  that  is:  the 
,  church  of  Christ  restored  to  its  primitive  purity  according 
to  the  word  of  God. 

In  fact,  the  pope  himself  had  not  denied,  at  the  imperial 
Diet  of  Nuremberg  (1522),  that  many  abuses  had  crept  into 
the  catholic  church ;  "  But,"  said  he,  "  the  cure  must  be 


134  EVANGELICAL  PKEACHERS.  [1519- 

slow  and  gradual,  lest  a  total  destruction  should  ensue  from 
the  endeavor  to  remedy  all  at  once."  So  thought,  also,  the 
good  catholics  of  Switzerland,  and  they  were  frightened  at 
innovations,  and  at  the  idea  of  abandoning  the  ancient  holy 
faitfc  of  their  fathers.  And  many  pious  and  respectable 
men  among  them  said  warningly :  "  Beware  of  what  you 
are  doing !  You  accuse  us  of  error ;  are  not  you,  fallible 
men  like  ourselves,  also  subject  to  error?  We  follow  the 
traditions  of  pious  men  who  lived  a  thousand  years,  and 
more,  nearer  to  the  time  of  Jesus ;  why  should  we  rather 
believe  you,  who  are  but  of  to-day  ?  Beware  then !  while 
with  your  lips  you  invoke  the  love  of  God,  you  are  bring- 
ing bloody  hatred,  discord  and  desolation  into  the  father- 
land" 

Loud  and  long  were  the  talks  and  negotiations  on  these 
matters ;  each  party  thought  itself  right,  and  accused  the 
other  of  error  and  heresy.  All  hearts  were  filled  with 
bitterness  and  anger.  Public  conferences  on  religion,  at 
which  the  magistrates  presided,  were  held  between  learned 
men  of  both  church- parties,  to  put  an  end  to  the  schism ; 
but,  as  is  almost  always  the  case,  each  remained  attached 
to  his  own  ideas  with  more  obstinacy  than  before. 

The  new  doctrine  of  the  reestablish ment  of  the  ancient 
Christian  faith  spread  further  every  day.  As  Zwingli  con- 
tributed most  to  this  in  Zurich,  so,  at  Berne,  Berchtold 
Haller,  Lupulus,  Nicholas  Manuel;  and  in  Bale,  CEcolam- 
padius ;  among  the  Grisons,  Henry  Spreiter  at  St.  Antho- 
ny's, John  Comander  at  Coire,  John  Blasius  at  Malans;  on 
the  lakes  of  Geneva  and  Neuchatel,  Nicholas  Farel ;  in 
Bienne,  Thomas  Wyttenbach ;  and  numerous  others  in  other 
places.  As  in  Zurich  and  Berne,  the  new  worship  was  also 
soon  adopted  in  Schaffhausen,  Bale  and  St.  Gallen;  the 
mass,  the  adoration  of  saints,  the  convents,  were  abolished ; 
the  laity  received  wine,  as  well  as  bread,  in  the  holy  sup- 
per ;  priests  were  allowed  to  marry,  and  the  reformed  ser- 
vice was  introduced  among  the  country-people  by  sovereign 
decree,  and  sometimes  by  'force,  even  against  the  wishes 
and  convictions  of  many  of  the  subjects. 

If  the  authorities  and  pastors  went  too  far  in  their  zeal, 
the  rude  people  often  went  still  further ;  they  profaned  the 


-1527.]  THE  ANABAPTISTS.  135 

long-adored  images  of  saints,  insulted  the  cross,  and  mocked 
those  who  wished  to  remain  faithful  to  their  ancient  belief. 

This  embittered  the  minds  of  the  catholics,  so  that  they 
were  filled  with  hatred  against  the  reformed  Confederates. 
Lucerne,  Uri,  Schwyz  and  Unterwalden  held  fast  to  the 
old  faith,  burned  the  writings  of  Luther  by  order  of  the 
pope  (1521),  and  forbade  all  persons  to  preach  the  new  doc- 
trine in  their  territory,  under  penalty  of  death.  In  the 
cantons  of  Glarus  and  Appenzell,  the  people  were  divided 
(1524)  so  that  catholics  and  reformed  lived  in  the  greatest 
discord.  But  in  Solothurn  and  Freiburg  the  governments 
forbade  all  innovation. 

Finally,  when  the  evangelical  doctrines  penetrated  into 
the  common  bailiwicks  of  the  Confederacy ;  into  Bheinthal 
and  Thurgau,  into  Toggenburg,  into  the  free  bailiwicks, 
into  the  county  of  Baden  and  other  places,  those  who  re- 
mained catholic  were  alarmed.  The  small  cantons  feared 
lest  the  reform  of  the  common  bailiwicks  would  not  only 
restrict  their  rights  of  sovereignty,  but  also  render  the  re- 
formed cities  too  powerful.  The  ambition  of  the  cities  to 
extend  their  territory  was  well  known  to  them.  They 
saw,  moreover,  the  violent  conduct  of  the  evangelicals  in 
several  cantons,  and  how  they  prevented  the  catholics  from 
following  the  worship  of  their  fathers.  And  the  ill-will 
became  still  stronger  on  the  part  of  the  catholics,  when  they 
perceived  that  the  new  teachers  did  not  agree  among  them- 
selves ;  that,  in  the  reformed  cantons,  violent  sectaries  oc- 
casioned all  kinds  of  disorders,  and  resisted  the  laws  and 
authorities.  The  anabaptists,  especially,  caused  great  trou- 
ble and  scandal ;  preaching  in  the  woods  and  fields,  they 
announced  the  near  coming  of  the  Messiah,  and  the  aboli- 
tion of  all  spiritual  and  temporal  subjection.  Such  was  the 
excitement  of  these  enthusiasts,  that  the  cities  of  Zurich, 
Berne,  St.  Gallen,  Schaffhausen  and  Bale  were  compelled 
to  put  a  stop  to  its  consequences  by  the  severest  penalties. 
For  these  people  introduced  among  themselves  community 
of  property  and  wives ;  young  girls  assumed  the  character 
of  the  Messiah ;  and  Thomas  Schmucker,  with  an  axe,  be- 
headed his  own  brother  Lienhard  on  the  Muhlegg,  as  an 
expiatory  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  world. 


186  CONVENT  OF  INTERLAKEN.  [152?- 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 

PROGRESS    OF    THE    DISCORD    IN    CHURCH-MATTERS. 
[A.  D.  1527  to  1530.] 

FROM  year  to  year,  from  day  to  day,  the  disorders, 
agitations  and  enmities,  occasioned  by  the  church-schism, 
increased  in  Switzerland.  Each  party,  to  prove  its  posses- 
sion of  true  Christianity,  pursued  the  other  with  most  un- 
christian hatred.  The  greatest  misfortunes  were  antici- 
pated. There  were,  however,  many  wise  and  well-inten- 
tioned Confederates,  among  both  catholics  and  reformed, 
who  said :  "  If  our  faith  be  the  true  one,  if  it-come  from 
God,  let  us  show  it  to  be  such  by  works  of  love  towards 
each  other :  for  love  is  of  God,  but  hate  and  enmity  are  of 
the  devil."  But  that  which  is  generally  the  case  occurred 
now.  The  voice  of  the  wise  was  drowned  by  the  cries  and 
uproar  of  those  who  were  zealous  from  religious  presump- 
tion, or  from  pride  and  selfishness. 

Among  those  who  raised  their  voices  against  either  the 
old  or  the  new  worship,  were  thousands  and  thousands  who 
cried  out  and  made  an  uproar,  not  for  the  sake  of  religion 
and  the  love  of  goodness  and  truth,  but  to  advance  their 
own  interests  under  pretext  of  piety.  Among  the  country- 
people,  many  expected  more  freedom  and  privileges  from 
the  adoption  of  the  new  faith;  and,  when  they  found  them- 
selves disappointed,  returned  at  once  to  the  catholic  church. 
Thus  when  the  council  of  Berne  suppressed  the  convent  of 
Interlaken,  and  established  reformed  preachers,  the  peas- 
ants were  greatly  delighted.  "No  more  convent,"  said 
they,  "  no  more  tithes,  no  more  taxes !"  But  as  the  city 
exacted  tithes  and  taxes  in  her  own  behalf,  the  angry 
peasants  became  catholics  again,  drove  away  the  reformed 
preachers,  and  advanced  in  arms  as  far  as  Thun.  Then  the 
city  called  upon  her  other  subjects  to  arbitrate  in  this  mat- 
ter ;  Berne  wished  for  peace,  because  she  could  not  expect 
prompt  or  hearty  aid  from  the  neighboring  cantons,  all 
catholics.  The  subjects  did  honor  to  the  confidence  of  the 


-1530.]  OBERHASLI.  137 

government,  decided  justly  and  said:  "The  temporal  rights 
of  the  convent  pass  to  the  temporal  authority,  and  in  no 
way  become  the  property  of  the  peasants."  The  insur- 
gents of  Grindelvvald  dispersed,  still  dissatisfied,  although 
the  city  had  remitted  many  of  the  former  charges  for  the 
benefit  of  their  poor. 

But  quiet  was  not  restored.  For  the  dispossessed  monks 
of  Interlaken  travelled  about  and  secretly  excited  the  peo- 
ple. The  abbot  of  Engelberg,  fearing  for  his  own  ancient 
rights  and  revenues  in  Bernese  Oberland,  did  the  same,  par- 
ticularly in  Oberhasli.  Oberhasli  had  enjoyed  great  free- 
dom from  the  oldest  times :  she  had  her  special  seal,  her 
banner,  a  landammann  of  her  own  choice,  and  was  not  so 
much  under  the  immediate  sovereignty  as  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  city  of  Berne.  Now,  when  the  communes 
of  Oberhasli,  excited  by  the  monks  of  Engelberg  and  the 
Untervvaldeners,  their  neighbors,  abolished  the  reformed 
worship  (1528),  and  introduced  catholic  priests  from  Uri  and 
Unterwalden,  the  Grindelwaldeners  did  the  same ;  Aeschi, 
Frutigen,  Obersimmen  and  other  valley-districts  followed 
the  example,  and  the  Unterwaldeners  even  sent  auxiliaries 
over  the  Brunig  to  act  in  case  of  need.  Berne  armed 
hastily,  and  sent  her  troops  to  prevent  the  spread  of  the 
rebellion.  The  insurgents,  losing  courage,  dispersed,  and 
the  Unterwaldeners  recrossed  the  Brunig.  Berne  pun- 
ished Oberhasli  severely :  took  away  the  banner  and  seal 
of  the  valley  for  a  long  time ;  deprived  the  inhabitants  of 
the  right  to  choose  a  landammann  forever ;  put  to  death 
the  leaders  of  the  insurrection,  and  compelled  the  rest  to 
beg  for  pardon  on  their  knees,  within  a  circle  formed  by 
the  troops.  In  Frutigen,  Simmenthal  and  the  other  places, 
the  reformed  worship  was  reestablished  by  force. 

Whenever  the  reformed  governments  undertook  to 
change  the  church-service  in  their  own  and  subject  dis- 
tricts, they  generally  met  with  little  opposition.  For  the 
people  were  either  desirous  of  a  pure  faith,  or  ignorant  and 
full  of  servile  fear  of  the  lords  and  magistrates  in  the  cities. 
They  often  adopted  the  new  worship  less  from  conviction 
than  in  blind  submission.  But  in  the  common  bailiwicks, 
where  the  catholic  and  reformed  cantons  held  equal  sover- 


138  VIOLENCE   OF  BOTH  PARTIES.  [1527- 

eignty,  great  difficulties  prevailed  and  violent  disturbances. 
In  the  free  bailiwicks  and  in  the  county  of  Baden,  some 
communes  changed  their  worship  in  one  and  the  same 
year,  according  as  the  influence  of  the  catholic  or  of  the 
reformed  cantons  preponderated.  The  city-council  of 
Bremgarten,  urged  by  the  catholic  cantons,  drove  from  their 
employ  the  pastor  Henry  Bullinger,  who  had  spread  the 
new  faith  through  the  free  bailiwicks,  while  the  people, 
encouraged  by  Zurich  and  Berne,  maintained  the  reformed 
worship.  Even  the  abbey  of  Wettingen  adopted  the  lat- 
ter, and  Toggenburg,  in  spite  of  her  sovereign,  the  abbot 
of  St.  Gallen,  decreed  the  abolition  of  the  mass  and  of  the 
adoration  of  saints. 

The  exasperation  of  the  catholic  and  reformed  cantons 
against  each  other  grew  more  savage  from  day  to  day.  As 
the  catholic' avoyer  Werli  had  acted  zealously  against  the 
evangelical  worship  in  Frauenfeld,  the  Zurichers  seized 
him  on  his  passage,  although  he  wore  the  colors  of  Unter- 
walden  on  his  cloak,  and  publicly  executed  him.  On  their 
side,  the  Schwyzers  laid  hands  on  the  reformed  pastor 
Kaiser,  of  Uznach,  and  burnt  him  at  the  stake  as  a  heretic. 
At  last  every  one  feared  for  his  life,  when  compelled  to 
pass  through  a  canton  of  different  faith.  When  bailiff  An- 
thony Abacker  had  to  go  from  Unterwalden  to  his  office 
in  the  free  bailiwicks,  he  was  unwilling  to  do  so  without 
an  armed  escort.  So  great  was  the  distrust,  the  fear  and 
the  hatred !  When  this  catholic  bailiff  reached  the  free 
bailiwicks,  the  reformed  subjects  therein  trembled.  For 
their  safety,  Zurich  sent  eight  hundred  infantry  to  Brem- 
garten and  to  the  abbey  of  Muri  (1529),  and  several  thou- 
sand men  into  Gasterland,  into  Thurgau,  and  toward  the 
canton  of  Zug.  Berne  also  armed  ten  thousand  men,  to  be 
ready  for  the  fight,  in  case  of  need. 

The  catholic  cantons,  on  their  side,  armed  no  less.  Uri, 
Schwyz,  Unterwalden,  Zug  and  Lucerne  marched  their 
troops  together  towards  the  frontiers  ;  fifteen  hundred  Ya- 
laisians  were  with  them.  They  had  made  a  league  with 
the  Roman  king  for  the  defence  of  the  ancient  faith. 

Now,  when  the  other  cantons  saw  that  Confederates  stood 
ready  to  draw  the  sword  against  Confederates,  they  inter- 


-1530.J  ACTIVITY  OF   THE   REFORMED.  139 

fered  as  mediators,  and  exhorted  to  peace.  The  noble 
spirit  of  the  best  days  of  the  Swiss  bond  still  prevailed,  and 
the  Confederate  on  the  Limraat  had  not  forgotten  that  the 
man  in  the  Waldstatten  was  his  brother.  Thus  it  was  with 
the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  opposed  armies,  who  took 
their  dinners  amicably  together  on  the  frontiers,  set  their 
milk-porridge  on  the  boundary-stones  of  their  cantons,  and 
fought  playfully  with  their  wooden  spoons,  whenever  any 
one  passed  the  border  in  fishing  for  a  good  morsel  in  the 
common  bowl.  This  time,  also,  the  landammann  Aebli  of 
Glarus  and  the  syndic  Sturm  of  Strassburg  succeeded  in 
establishing  an  equality  of  religious  rights  between  the  dis- 
cordant parties  on  the  26th  of  June,  1529.  The  troops  re- 
turned to  their  homes. 

But  hardly  were  they  there,  when  the  old  quarrel  was  re- 
newed, and  the  reformed  were  moreover  very  active  in 
spreading  their  doctrines  everywhere.  In  consequence  of 
the  zeal  of  Berne  the  evangelical  worship  was  adopted  in 
the  principality  of  Neuchatel,  and  the  learned  Berchtold 
Haller  opened  a  way  for  it  in  the  canton  of  Solothurn. 
The  activity  of  Zurich  gained  over  to  the  new  faith  many 
communes  in  Sarganserland  and  Thurgau  and  in  the  county 
of  Baden,  as  well  as  Kaiserstuhl  and  Zurzach.  And  when, 
at  this  time,  the  abbot  of  St.  Gallen,  Francis  Geisberger, 
died,  Zurich,  with  the  reformed  portion  of  Glarus,  under- 
took to  suppress  the  abbey  of  St.  Gallen,  and  to  secularise 
all  there  belonging  to  the  chapter.  The  burghers  of  St. 
Gallen  did,  in  fact,  introduce  the  reformed  service  into  the 
abbey-church.  A  large  part  of  the  riches  of  the  abbey  was 
devoted  to  the  support  of  the  poor ;  the  reformed  subjects 
of  the  abbey  were  relieved  from  many  charges,  and  their 
communes  received  the  privilege  of  choosing  their  own 
pastors. 

This  offended  the  catholic  cantons.  For  Zurich  and  Gla- 
rus were  not  the  sole  protectors  of  the  abbey  of  St.  Gallen, 
but  Lucerne  and  Schwyz  also.  And,  although  the  former, 
in  the  changes,  had  reserved  the  rights  of  the  two  catholic 
protecting  cantons,  they  nevertheless  made  continually  fresh 
innovations ;  and,  moreover,  though  the  reformed  always 
asserted  liberty  of  conscience  among  the  subjects  in.  the  com- 


140  ZURICH   ANT7  BERlfE.  [168T- 

mon  bailiwicks,  as  a  principle,  they  rarely  allowed  it  as  a 
fact.  Even  Rapperswyl  at  last  fell  from  the  ancient  faith, 
and  Toggenburg  entertained  the  hope  of  purchasing  her- 
self entirely  free  from  the  rights  of  the  abbey. 

ThenUri,  UnterwalderrandZug,  also,  joined  with  Schwyz 
and  Lucerne,  for  they  found  that  the  last  agreement  re- 
specting religion  was  by  no  means  for  their  advantage. 
And  they  said :  "  This  is  a  hard  knot,  which  the  sword 
only  can  loose." 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

THE    WAR    OF   HAPPEL.        DEATH    OF    ZWINGLI.        AVOTEB    WENOI    Of 
SOLOTHURN. 

[A.  D.  1531  to  1533.] 

THE  citizens  of  Zurich  were  violently  excited.  All 
wished  for  war,  but  not  all  from  the  same  motive.  Some 
desired  it  from  an  overweening  zeal  for  the  new  faith,  per- 
suaded that  they  ought  to  sacrifice  property  and  life  for 
their  religion,  and  risk  every  thing  to  spread  it  over  Swit- 
zerland. Others  looked  to  conquest,  and  wished  to  obtain 
the  exclusive  sovereignty  of  the  common  bailiwicks  by 
destroying  the  authority  of  the  catholic  cantons  therein. 
A  third  party  desired  war,  in  the  hope  of  crushing  the 
catholic  citizens.  For  many  in  Zurich  were  still  secretly 
true  to  the  faith  of  their  fathers,  either  from  conviction  or 
from  dislike  to  the  austerity  of  the  evangelical  preachers, 
who  without  forbearance  censured  the  licentiousness  of 
manners,  and  inveighed  against  the  venality  and  pensions 
of  the  great  lords. 

Berne,  on  the  contrary,  desired  peace.  For  Berne  was 
not  sure  of  quiet  in  her  own  territory,  and  would  derive 
no  advantage  from  the  secularization  of  the  distant  abbey 
of  St.  Gallen.  Therefore  Berne  said  to  the,  Zurichers : 
"Why  shed  the  blood  of  your  compatriots?  Prohibit  all 
trade  in  grain  with  the  Waldstatten,  until  they  fulfil  all 
the  articles  of  the  treaty  of  religion,  and  give  you  satisfac- 


-1533.]          THE  CATHOLIC  CANTONS.  141 

tion."  Thereto  Zurich  replied :  "  Such  a  measure  is  quite 
as  hateful  as  war,  and  does  not  bring  about  a  decision  so 
promptly  as  a  brisk  fight."  They  therefore  prepared  for 
war:  Zurich  eagerly,  hurriedly;  Berne  slowly,  unwillingly ; 
this  was  of  disadvantage  to  both. 

But  the  five  catholic  cantons,  Lucerne,  Uri,  Schwyz,  Tin- 
terwalden  and  Zug,  said  to  Zurich  .  and  Berne :  "  You 
spread  your  innovations  every  day  by  fraud  and  by  force; 
shall  we  allow  the  holy  faith  of  our  fathers  to  be  entirely 
banished  from  the  country  of  our  fathers?  You  make  our 
subjects  unfaithful,  and  encourage  the  rebels.  You  have 
permitted  the  insurgents  of  Rheinthal  to  seize  the  Unter- 
waldener  bailiff,  Kretz,  and  to  keep  him  prisoner  in  the 
council-house  at  Alstetten.  You  have  stripped  the  abbot 
of  St.  Galleu  of  his  rights  and  property.  We  have  asked 
for  Confederate  justice,  and  you  have  denied  it  to  us.  We 
wish  for  a  reconciliation,  and  you  drive  us  from  free  fields 
and  markets.  Therefore,  since  you  will  have  it  so,  let  the 
sword  decide.  God  be  the  judge!" 

Thus  said  the  five  cantons,  and  their  banners  marched 
at  once  with  eight  thousand  men  towards  Zug  and  into  the 
free  bailiwicks.  There  was  already  a  troop  of  Zurichers 
encamped  near  Kappel;  it  was  weak.  But  the  head- 
quarters of -Zurich  were  to  follow.  The  Bernese  were  sta- 
tioned near  Lenzburg,  and  knew  not  what  to  do,  as  they 
had  received  no  orders.  The  banners  of  the  five  cantons 
advanced  (12th  Oct.,  1531)  as  far  as  Kappel ;  three  hundred 
of  the  bravest  immediately  precipitated  themselves  into 
the  ranks  of  the  Zurichers.  The  rest  rushed  after.  The 
combat  was  terrible.  Too  late  and  too  fatigued  came  the 
chief  banner  of  Zurich  over  the  Albis.  With  it  was  Ulric 
Zwingli.  There  fought  Swiss  against  Swiss  with  the  an- 
cient heroism.  Over  six  hundred  Zurichers  were  slain. 
Under  the  dead  lay  the  body  of  Zwingli.  The  rest  fled, 
pursued  until  night.  The  victors  returned  late  to  the  bat- 
tle-field, thanked  God,  according  to  the  custom  of  their 
fathers,  for  the  bloody  defeat  of  their  vanquished  brothers, 
and  plundered  the  deserted  camp  of  Zurich. 

A  few  days  afterwards,  however,  the  heights  of  Albis 
were  again  covered  with  reformed  auxiliaries.  The  Bern- 


142  CATHOLIC    WORSHIP  [1531- 

ese  took  post  in  numbers  near  Bremgarten,  and  pillaged 
the  convent  of  Muri ;  on  the  other  side,  the  evangelicals 
advanced  as  far  as  Zug  mountain.  Several  troops  of  them 
were  sent  to  plunder  the  convent  of  Einsiedeln.  But  John 
Hug,  son  of  the  avoyer  of  Lucerne,  with  six  hundred 
chosen  men,  surprised  them  before  break  of  day  (24th  Oc- 
tober) on  Mount  Gubel,  near  Menzigen,  and  put  them  to 
flight  after  a  short  battle. 

These  defeats  spread  mourning  and  terror  through  the 
city  of  Zurich;  twenty-six  members  of  the  great  and  little 
councils  had  lost  their  lives  on  the  field  of  battle.  The 
reformed  Orisons,  already  on  the  march,  stopped  near  Uz- 
nach.  The  evangelicals  of  Glarus  wished  to  remain  neu- 
tral. The  Toggenburgers  desired  to  treat  with  the  catholic 
cantons,  protectors  of  the  abbey  of  St.  Gallen.  Then  Zu- 
rich thought :  "  We  stand  alone ;  peace  is  necessary." 

The  five  cantons,  without  arrogance,  offered  peace  on 
equitable  conditions.  It  was  concluded  with  Zurich  on 
the  16th  of  November,  at  the  farm  of  Teynikon,  below  the 
Breitholz,  in  the  open  field.  Arbitrators  were  to  decide 
afterwards  respecting  the  expenses  of  the  war ;  but  both 
religious  parties  were  to  have  equal  rights  in  the  common 
bailiwicks.  When  the  Bernese  heard  this,  they  marched 
home,  and  willingly  accepted  the  peace.  Many  of  them 
were  still  faithful  in  their  hearts  to  the  Koman-catholic 
church.  Even  the  Bernese  general,  Sebastian  of  Diesbach, 
returned  to  the  catholic  faith  a  few  years  afterwards  and 
went  to  Freiburg  in  Uechtland. 

After  the  five  victorious  cantons  had  made  peace  with 
Zurich  and  Berne,  they  demanded  satisfaction  from  Solo- 
thurn,  which  had  sent  auxiliaries  to  the  Bernese.  Most 
of  the  communes  of  the  canton  of  Solothurn  had  already 
embraced  the  evangelical  faith,  and  were  therefore  willing 
to  aid  the  Bernese.  In  the  capital  city,  however,  the  coun- 
cil and  citizens  were  divided,  and  this  gave  rise  to  many 
quarrels  and  persecutions  about  doctrine.  But  when  the 
five  catholic  cantons  required  an  indemnity  of  a  thousand 
guilders,  or  that  the  Solothurners  should  return  to  the 
faith  of  their  fathers,  few  were  willing  to  pay.  Most  of 
them  again  called  themselves  catholics.  In  the  city  itself, 


-1533.]  HE-ESTABLISHED    IN    SOLOTHURN.  143 

the  catholics  took  up  arms  against  the  reformed,  to  compel 
them  to  abjure  the  evangelical  faith,  and  came  with  a 
loaded  cannon  in  front  of  the  house  where  the  latter  were 
even  then  deliberating.  The  crashing  shot  was  about  to 
be  fired.  Suddenly  a  venerable  man  advanced  from  the 
furious  crowd,  placed  his  breast,  full  of  true  patriotism, 
before  the  cannon's  mouth,  and  said :  "  If  citizens'  blood 
must  flow,  let  my  blood  flow  first !"  All  drew  back  trem- 
bling when  they  saw  the  act  of  this  great  Christian  hero : 
it  was  the  avoyer  Wengi  of  Solothurn.  No  blood  flowed. 
But  the  evangelicals  of  the  city,  willing  to  leave  every 
thing  rather  than  their  beloved  faith,  sacrificed  their  prop- 
erty and  estates,  and  went  into  other  cities  and  lands.  The 
Roman-catholic  worship  was  reestablished  (1533)  in  forty- 
four  communes  of  the  district,  thirty-four  of  which  had 
embraced  the  evangelical  doctrine. 

These  were  the  results  of  the  fratricidal  victory  near 
Kappel ;  but  not  all :  the  abbot  of  St.  Gallen  was  restored 
to  all  his  rights,  and  the  further  spread  of  the  evangelical 
doctrine  in  the  common  bailiwicks  stopped  forever.  Fur- 
thermore, the  influence  of  the  victors  was  so  preponder- 
ating, that  the  catholic  worship  was  reinstated  by  force  in 
several  places  in  the  common  domain. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

GENEVA    SEPARATES    FROM    SAVOT.       BERNE    SUBDUES   VAUD. 
[A.  D.  1588  to  1558.] 

NOT  less  violent,  at  this  time,  was  the  excitement  re- 
specting church-matters  among  the  people  in  other  districts 
of  the  Helvetian  moiintains.  In  the  valleys  of  the  Orisons, 
where  no  restraint  was  exercised,  some  communes  em- 
braced the  new  faith,  others  retained  the  old.  In  Valais, 
where  Thomas  Plater  preached  reform  most  zealously,  the 
evangelical  worship  had  numerous  adherents  at  Sion  and 
Leuk.  In  Vaud,  along  the  shores  of  lake  Leman,  Lau- 


144  THE  COUNTS  OF  SAVOY.  [1533- 

sanne,  with  the  other  cities  and  most  of  the  village  districts, 
separated  from  the  Eoman  church.  Geneva  did  the  same ; 
but  with  great  troubles  and  commotion.  For  religious 
discord  was  then  added  to  the  civil  disorders  which  had 
long  prevailed  in  that  city. 

Geneva  was  already  renowned  as  a  beautiful  and  popu- 
lous city,  flourishing  by  the  arts,  the  science,  the  industry 
and  activity  of  her  inhabitants.  Twice  had  this  very  an- 
cient city  of  the  Allobroges  been  destroyed  in  the  time  of 
the  Eoman  emperors ;  twice  had  she  risen  from  her  ruins. 
Even  at  this  day,  two  street-pavements  are  found,  one  un- 
der another.  After  the  Romans,  the  Burgundian  kings 
often  resided  there;  afterwards,  under  the  Franks,  the 
Burgundian  free-men  there  held  their  diet.  From  unre- 
membered  times,  a  bishop  thence  exercised  spiritual  do- 
minion over  a  large  territory.  He  enjoyed  a  princely  title, 
great  estates  and  prerogatives,  as  well  as  the  right  of  su- 
premacy over  the  city.  This  had  formerly  belonged  to 
the  French  kings,  who  conferred  it  on  the  bishop.  The 
other  rights  of  the  kings  were  exercised  by  the  counts  of 
Geneva  as  bailiffs.  By  degrees,  these  counts  had  made 
their  offices  hereditary  in  their  families.  Not  only  did 
they  consider  the  whole  district  of  Geneva,  excepting  what 
belonged  to  the  bishop,  as  theirs,  but  they  were  also  the 
deputies  or  stadtholders  of  the  bishop  in  the  management 
of  his  temporal  rights.  Hence  arose  endless  disputes  be- 
tween the  bishop  of  Geneva  and  the  counts  of  Geneva. 
The  citizens  gained  by  this  dissension.  Supporting  by 
turns  the  cause  of  one  or  of  the  other,  they  obtained  new 
privileges  and  franchises  from  both.  Finally,  three  parties 
contended  for  preeminence  in  that  narrow  corner  of  the 
earth :  the  bishop,  the  count  of  Geneva  and  the  burghers 
of  the  city.  A  fourth  soon  made  his  appearance :  the 
neighboring,  powerful  count  of  Savoy.  The  citizens  first 
called  him  to  their  aid  against  the  count  of  Geneva,  and 
granted  to  him  many  of  the  rights  of  the  latter ;  but  he 
therefore  wished  to  have  them  all.  He  tried  to  supplant 
the  counts  of  Geneva,  and,  when  this  family  died  out,  he 
bought  all  their  estates.  Thus  he  acquired  great  influence 
in  the  city-commonwealth. 


-1568.]  ALLIANCE   WITH  CONFEDERATES.  145 

Becoming  more  and  more  powerful,  so  much  so  as  to 
assume  the  title  of  dukes,  the  counts  of  Savoy  became  . 
more  and  more  dangerous  to  the  citizens.  They  soon  ap- 
propriated all  the  power  of  the  bishop,  by  always,  as  was 
easy,  placing  a  son  of  their  house  in  the  episcopal  chair. 
But,  when  one  of  these  bishops,  after  the  war  of  the  Swiss 
with  Charles  the  Bold  of  Burgundy,  made  (1493),  for  him- 
self and  the  city,  a  treaty  of  coburghership  or  defensive 
alliance  with  the  cities  of  Freiburg  and  Berne,*  the  citi- 
zens unexpectedly  acquired  in  these  neighboring  Confed- 
erates new  sureties  for  their  threatened  rights,  against  the 
powerful  dukes  and  bishops.  This  had  important  conse- 
quences. 

One  day  (in  1517)  an  evil-disposed  student  at  Geneva 
maliciously  cut  off  the  leg  of  a  mule  belonging  to  the  epis- 
copal judge  Grossi.  Then  he  and  a  troop  of  wild  com- 
rades, who  bore  ill-will  to  the  judge,  caused  the  mule's  leg 
to  be  carried  through  all  the  streets  by  an  idiot,  and  told 
him  to  cry :  "  Who'll  buy,  who'll  buy  a  piece  of  the  gross 
beast?"  Grossi  felt  doubly  angry  at  this  allusion  to  his 
name  and  insult  to  his  person.  He  cited  the  offenders  be- 
fore  the  bishop's  court.  The  bishop  pardoned  them  all, 
excepting  one  Pecolat,  whom  he  imprisoned,  and  another, 
named  Berthelier,  who  fled  to  Freiburg.  Now  arose  a 
dispute  as  to  the  jurisdiction  to  which  Pecolat  belonged. 
The  city  of  Geneva  succeeded  in  having  him  brought  be- 
fore her  tribunal.  The  affair  was  lengthened  out,  and 
carried  before  duke,  bishop,  archbishop  and  pope. 

In  the  mean  while,  Berthelier  was  not  idle  at  Freiburg. 
Clothed  with  full  powers  by  his  fellow-citizens,  he  strength- 
ened the  bonds  of  union  between  Freiburg  and  Geneva. 
When,  to  complete  his  work,  he  came  back  to  Geneva  un- 
der a  safe-conduct  (6th  February,  1519),  and  brought  the 
compact  with  Freiburg  to  the  city,  the  duke  was  so  en- 
raged thereat,  that  he  put  to  death  at  Turin  some  Genevese 
who  were  travelling  through  his  country.  This  act  of 
vengeance  increased  the  bitterness  and  open  division  be- 

*  The  close  compact  of  Geneva  with  Freiburg  was  formed  in  1519 ; 
with  Berne,  in  1526. 

7  N 


146  THE   HUGUENOTS.  [1533- 

tween  the  partisans  of  the  Confederates  and  those  of  the 
duke  of  Savoy.  The  latter,  few  in  number,  were  called 
Mamelukes ;  the  others,  Eidsgenossen,  or,  as  they  said  in 
their  French  idiom,  Huguenots. 

The  dispute  respecting  the  compact  was  carried  before 
several  Swiss'  diets,  but  without  result.  The  duke  so  cru- 
elly maltreated  the  Huguenots,  whom  he  termed  rebellious 
subjects,  that  many  fled  to  Berne  and  Freiburg.  He  even 
seized  and  executed  Berthelier.  The  Savoyard  nobility 
were  ordered  to  harass  the  city  in  all  possible  ways. 
Then,  to  these  troubles,  was  added  the  dispute  about  the 
new  church-doctrine.  Most  of  the  Huguenots  were  evan- 
gelical-reformed. Even  the  prior  of  St.  Victor,  named 
Bonnivard,  was  one  of  the  first  who  preached  against  the 
pope.*  Thereat  the  duke  and  bishop  redoubled  their  se- 
verity against  the  Genevese,  so  that  Berne  and  Freiburg 
could  no  longer  leave  their  allies  without  protection.  With 
twelve  thousand  men,  they  marched  through  Vaud  to 
Geneva,  ravaging  as  they  went  (10th  Oct.,  1530).  Then 
deputies  from  Valais  and  the  ten  cantons  interposed  as 
mediators,  persuaded  the  troops  to  retire,  and  peace  was 
concluded  at  St  Julian  (1530).  The  duke  promised  to 
respect  the  rights  of  Geneva,  under  penalty  of  losing  the 
whole  of  Vaud  ;  on  her  side,  Geneva  agreed  to  respect  the 
rights  of  the  duke,  under  penalty  of  forfeiting  her  alliance 
with  the  Confederates. 

Peace  was  reestablished,  friendship  was  not.  The  exas- 
perated duke  secretly  continued  his  persecutions.  In  the 
city,  the  parties  of  catholics  and  protestants  hated  one 
another.  They  made  onslaughts  against  each  other ;  as- 
sassinations followed.  But  the  Huguenots  had  the  upper 
hand.  The  bishop,  frightened  by  the  people,  left  the  city, 
and  fixed  his  seat  at  Gex.  He  and  the  duke  of  Savoy 
made  a  sudden  assault,  to  surprise  the  city  with  an  armed 
force.  They  were  repulsed  by  the  vigilance  and  courage 
of  the  excited  citizens  (1534).  The  latter  immediately 
established  the  evangelical  worship,  declared  that  the 

*  He  was  seized  by  the  duke's  emissaries,  and  carried  to  the  castle  of 
Chillon,  at  the  east  end  of  the  lake  of  Geneva,  where  he  was  confined  for 
six  years  in  a  dungeon  on  a  level  with  the  lake. 


-1558.]  JOHN   CALVIN.  147 

bishop's  sovereignty  bad  ceased  and  that  their  city  was  au 
independent  republic  (1536). 

This  was  a  bold  and  momentous  step.  It  was,  however, 
a  successful  one.  At  this  period  John  Calvin,  a  French 
ecclesiastic  from  Eoyon,  joined  the  Genevese.  He  was  a 
wise  man,  skilled  in  affairs  of  church  and  state,  a  zealous 
and  often  cruel  partisan  of  the  evangelical  faith.  He  not 
only  established  the  new  worship  which  William  Farrell 
and  Anthony  Saunier  had  introduced,  but  he  also  repressed 
the  extreme  corruption  of  manners  by  severe  discipline, 
and  helped  to  consolidate  the  new  commonwealth  by  strin- 
gent laws.  Such  was  Calvin's  influence,  that  at  last  noth- 
ing was  done  contrary  to  his  will ;  such  his  reputation  for 
insight  into  spiritual  things,  that,  in  Switzerland,  France 
and  Germany,  the  reformed  were  called  Calvinists,  after 
his  name. 

In  the  mean  while,  as  the  exiled  Mamelukes  and  the 
Savoyard  nobility  of  Vaud  pressed  the  city  sore,  the  Ber- 
nese declared  war  against  the  duke  of  Savoy,  because  he 
had  not  observed  the  treaty  of  St.  Julian.  They  sent 
seven  thousand  troops  into  Vaud  (January,  1536) ;  within 
eleven  days  they  conquered  all  from  Morat  to  Geneva,  and 
relieved  this  city,  which  received  them  joyfully ;  drove 
the  bishop  away  from  Lausanne,  took  possession  of  his 
property  and  rights,  and  made  themselves  sovereigns  of 
the  whole  of  Vaud,  much  more  easily  than  they  had  for- 
merly done  of  Aargau.  For  the  duke  of  Savoy  could 
make  but  slight  resistance,  being  also  engaged  in  war  with 
the  king  of  France,  and  in  great  need.  The  cities  and 
communes  of  Vaud  submitted  willingly  to  the  Bernese, 
because  the  yoke  of  the  dukes  of  Savoy  had  often  borne 
heavily  upon  them,  and  because  the  magistrates  of  the 
country  had  cared  more  for  themselves  than  for  the  peo- 
ple. 

But  Valais  and  Freiburg  looked  with  jealous  eyes  upon 
the  conquest  of  Vaud  by  Berne.  They  wished  to  have  a 
share  in  it.  The  Valaisians  took  possession  of  the  terri- 
tory between  their  frontiers  and  the  Dranse  ;  the  Freiburg- 
ers  took  the  districts  of  Rue  and  Komont.  Berne  willingly 
allowed  this,  that  she  might  hold  the  main  part  of  the 


148  THE   COUNTS   OF   GUUYERE3.  [1558- 

countrj  undisturbed  and  establish  herself  firmly  therein. 
With  this  purpose,  she  immediately  introduced  the  re- 
formed service  everywhere,  placed  eight  bailiffs  over  the 
conquered  districts,  and  appointed  for  her  newly-acquired 
territory  a  separate  treasurer,  to  collect  the  revenue  of  the 
state.  Only  a  few  places  retained  their  former  franchises. 
The  city  of  Lausanne,  however,  preserved  her  old  import- 
ant privileges,  so  that  she  was  like  a  protected  city.  Twice 
already,  in  earlier  times,  had  Berne  conquered  Yaud : 
once  in  the  Burgundian  war,  when  she  kept  Bex  and 
Aigle;  the  second  time,  before  the  peace  of  St.  Julian, 
when  she  kept  nothing.  But  now,  the  third  time,  she  did 
not  give  back  her  fine  booty. 

For  a  long  while,  the  rich  and  powerful  counts  of  Gru- 
yeres,  who  held  much  land  in  Vaud,  steadfastly  refused  to 
render  homage  for  their  estates  to  the  cities  of  Berne  and 
Freiburg.  But,  as  these  counts  were  burdened  with  debt 
and  in  want  of  money,  the  cities  prudently  bought  up  the 
claims  of  their  creditors  (1554).  Thus  Freiburg  acquired 
the  signiory  of  Gruyeres ;  Berne,  the  valleys  of  Rouge- 
mont  and  Oron.* 

Thus  Berne  doubled  the  extent  of  her  territory,  and  by 
her  skilful  policy  in  seizing  auspicious  moments,  by  the 
public  spirit,  the  resolution  and  determined  valor  of  her 
citizens,  became  the  most  powerful  city  of  the  whole  Con- 
federacy in  lands  and  people. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

RELIGIOUS  HATRED  IN  THE  ITALIAN  BAILIWICKS,  IN  ORISONS  AND 
EVERYWHERE.  DISPUTE  ABOUT  THE  CALENDAR.  THE  BORRO- 
MEAN  LEAGUE. 

[A.  D.  1568  to  1586.] 

THE  city  of  Geneva,  with  a  little  territory  outside  her 
walls,  flourished  thenceforward  as  a  republic,  and  became 

*  These  form  part  of  the  present  canton  of  Vaud. 


-1586.]  LELIUS  AND   FAUSTUS  SOCINIUS.  149 

one  of  the  most  celebrated  cities  of  Switzerland  by  her  in- 
dustry and  science.  Nevertheless,  the  Confederates  long 
hesitated  to  admit  her  as  an  allied  canton,  on  account  of 
her  continual  disturbances.  Those  disturbances  were  the 
fruits,  partly  of  the  new  freedom  itself,  partly  of  the  in- 
flexible severity  and  ardent  religious  zeal  of  John  Calvin. 
Calvin  pursued  with  exile,  the  sword  or  the  stake,  every- 
one who  opposed  his  doctrine  and  measures. 

Berne  alone  held  true  to  Geneva,  Geneva  to  Berne ;  in 
1558,  they  renewed  their  coburghership  or  mutually  defen- 
sive alliance  for  all  time.  Geneva  found  in  Berne  her 
surest  protection  against  outward  and  inward  troubles; 
Berne,  on  her  side,  found  in  Geneva  a  strong  fortress 
against  Savoy,  for  holding  Vaud  in  awe,  and  for  reducing 
the  Vaudois  themselves,  in  case  they  wished  to  reclaim 
ancient  franchises  which  the  confederate  city  was  not  in- 
clined to  allow. 

The  religious  discord  among  the  Confederates  and  their 
subjects  had,  in  the  mean  while,  affected  many  hearts  in 
the  Italian  bailiwicks  beyond  the  St.  Gotthard.  The  num- 
ber of  evangelical-reformed  was  especially  great  in  the 
bailiwick  of  Locarno;  among  them  were  many  of  the 
richest  and  most  respected  families;  Lelius  and  Faustus 
Sozzini  (Socinius)  had  there  spread  a  much  freer  doctrine 
in  matters  of  faith  than  even  Zwingli  in  Zurich  or  Calvin 
in  Geneva.  But  the  Sozzini  were  driven  away,  and  their 
adherents  banished  or  punished  with  death.  In  Locarno 
itself,  Beccaria  afterwards  became  the  principal  teacher  of 
the  evangelicals.  The  catholic  bailiff  imprisoned  him,  but 
a  troop  of  the  reformed  assailed  the  castle  and  released 
Beccaria  by  force.  The  bailiff,  invested  with  full  powers 
by  the  seven  catholic  cantons  participating  in  the  govern- 
ment, at  last  ordered  all  the  evangelicals  to  attend  the 
catholic  worship,  and  banished  many  from  the  country. 
"  That  is  contrary  to  our  agreement  respecting  religious 
equality!"  said  the  evangelical  participating  cantons. 
"No,"  replied  the  catholic  cantons,  "that  agreement  does 
not  extend  to  the  Italian  bailiwicks;  here  the  majority  of 
votes  decide."  And  so  the  persecutions  continued.  The 
papal  nuncio  or  embassador  did  his  best  to  increase  them. 

N* 


150  THE  NUNCIO'S   BARBARITY.  [1558- 

Finally  the  general  banishment  of  the  reformed  from 
Locarno  was  decided  upon  and  put  in  execution  (March, 
1555).  One  hundred  and  fifty  persons  were  compelled  to 
assemble  in  the  council-house  and  listen  to  their  sentence 
in  submissive  silence.  Suddenly  the  papal  nuncio  entered 
the  hall,  and  angrily  cried  out:  "This  is  too  lenient! 
The  exiles  must  be  deprived  of  their  property  and  estates, 
and  of  their  children  also!"  But  even  the  deputies  of  the 
catholic  Confederates  shuddered  at  the  idea  of  such  bar- 
barity. Much  more  humanity  dwelt  in  their  hearts  than 
in  the  heart  of  the  priest  of  God.  And  they  said :  "  We 
never  revoke  our  once  pronounced  sentence." 

Then  the  exiles,  with  their  wives  and  little  children, 
went  far  away  from  the  homes  of  their  fathers,  in  the 
rigorous  season  of  the  year,  over  inhospitable  mountains. 
The  evangelical  Confederates  received  them  with  Christian 
charity.  More  than  a  hundred  found  an  asylum  in  Zurich. 
Among  them  were  several  rich  and  learned  men :  the 
Orelli,  the  Muralte,  and  others,  whose  families  still  flourish 
at  Zurich.  They  carried  to  that  city  the  art  of  weaving 
silk,  established  mills  and  dye-houses,  and  so  enriched  her 
by  their  industry,  that  the  prosperity  of  Zurich  soon  be- 
came celebrated  even  beyond  the  limits  of  Switzerland. 

In  spite  of  the  church-dissensions,  the  Confederates 
would  probably  have  returned  to  their  ancient  concord, 
had  they  not  lent  too  ready  an  ear  to  the  insinuations  of 
foreign  embassadors.  At  this  same  period,  religious  wars 
desolated  France  and  Germany  also;  the  envoys  of  the 
sovereigns  engaged  in  these  wars  sought  favor  and  assist- 
ance from  the  cantons  of  their  own  faith,  and  excited  them 
against  the  others,  and  the  clergy  on  both  sides  did  their 
best  to  inflame  the  minds  of  the  people.  Some  of  the 
reformed  cantons  did,  indeed,  prudently  avoid  all  inter- 
mingling in  foreign  quarrels;  but  not  all,  and  not  the 
catholic  cantons.  These  last  were  influenced  by  the  advice 
of  the  papal  nuncio,  and  not  less  by  the  gold  which  the 
French  embassador  lavished  in  order  to  procure  Swiss 
mercenaries  for  the  service  of  his  king.  In  1553  they 
made,  with  king  Henry  II.  of  France,  the  first  formal 
agreement  (called  Capitulation)  respecting  Swiss  regiments 


-1686.]  DUKE  EMANUEL   PHILIBEET.  151 

to  be  sent  into  the  French  service,  supplied  ten  thousand 
men  in  one  year,  and  considerable  reinforcements  annually. 
The  Swiss  have  always  fought  with  glory  upon  foreign 
soil,  though  but  the  mercenaries  of  foreign  masters.  Their 
blood  did  not  flow  for  their  fatherland,  their  deeds  do  not 
belong  to  the  history  of  that  fatherland.  Let  foreigners 
praise  the  exploits  they  paid  for. 

The  papal  nuncio  especially  labored  without  relaxation 
to  injure  the  reformed  cantons.  He  sowed  discord  every- 
where in  the  name  of  religion.  He  even  attempted  to 
reestablish  the  dominion  of  Savoy  in  Geneva,  and  perhaps 
in  Vaud  also.  Some  of  the  reformed  cantons,  jealous  of 
the  preponderance  of  Berne,  would  willingly  have  seconded 
him  in  this.  But  the  design  failed.  For  when  the  duke 
of  Savoy  did,  in  fact,  reclaim  Vaud,  in  1564,  Berne,  pru- 
dently avoiding  an  encounter  with  a  too  powerful  enemy, 
prevented  greater  losses  by  the  voluntary  surrender  of  the 
little  district  of  Gex,  and  of  all  the  territory  beyond  the 
lake  of  Geneva.  In  exchange,  duke  Emanuel  Philibert, 
by  the  treaty  of  Lausanne,  renounced  his  pretensions  upon 
Vaud,  and  the  king  of  France  guaranteed  this  treaty,  but 
with  the  express  reserve  of  the  ancient  franchises  which 
Vaud  had  enjoyed  under  Savoy.  Geneva,  however,  re- 
mained long  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  Savoy.  But  the 
necessity  of  constantly  defending  her  political  existence 
against  the  intrigues  and  great  power  of  her  enemy,  de- 
veloped new  strength  in  this  small  but  courageous  republic, 
always  manfully  supported  by  Berne.  At  last  (1581), 
Zurich  also  entered  into  perpetual  coburghership  with  the 
Genevese. 

Of  all  the  defenders  of  the  Eoman  See,  none  ever  ex- 
ercised so  great  an  ascendancy  in  the  Confederacy  as  car- 
dinal Charles  Borromeo.  Seldom  also  do  we  see  a  man 
more  capable,  by  his  talents  and  his  virtues,  of  executing 
great  enterprises,  than  this  young  prelate,  active,  pious, 
burning  with  zeal  for  his  faith.  To  arrest,  by  eternal  bar- 
riers, the  spreading  of  the  new  doctrine,  to  strengthen 
against  the  storms  of  time  the  ancient  catholic  church, 
already  deeply  shaken,  was  the  task  to  which  he  devoted  his 
life.  With  this  object  he  abolished  many  abuses  in  Italy, 


152  GREAT  ASCENDANCY   OF  [1558. 

reformed  the  manners  of  the  clergy,  and  made  numerous 
journeys.  He  came  into  Switzerland  also.  But  what  he 
did  here  was  not  all  for  the  advantage  of  the  Confederates. 

When  in  Yaltelina,  where  the  Grisons  wished  to  estab- 
lish reformed  schools,  he  labored  secretly,  but  assiduously, 
against  them.  In  Grisons  he  would  willingly  have  armed 
catholics  against  evangelicals ;  but,  excepting  the  court  of 
the  bishop  of  Coire,  the  free  sons  of  the  highlands  received 
him  coldly.  They  were  wearied  of  religious  disputes,  in 
which,  as  among  the  Swiss,  the  selfish  interests  of  the  rich 
families  were  mixed  up.  Thereby  the  noble  and  innocent 
baron  John  Planta  of  Rhezuns  was  brought  to  the  scaffold 
(1572)  and  many  an  honest  man  lost  honor  and  country, 
property  and  life.  Even  in  our  day  men  talk  in  the 
Grison  mountains  of  the  formidable  tribunals  of  Thusis 
and  Coire,  of  the  armed  assemblages  of  the  people,  and  of 
the  venality  so  common  in  those  days  of  corruption.  A 
law  passed  (1570)  at  last  put  a  stop  to  that  impudent  am- 
bition which  obtained  honors  by  money  and  intrigues, 
and  another  (1574)  forbade  armed  assemblages  in  the 
country.  For  the  love  of  justice,  among  the  Grisons,  was 
allied  to  the  love  of  unshackled  liberty.  A  small  number 
only  of  noble  and  ambitious  families  cared  little  for  liberty 
or  justice. 

When  cardinal  Charles  Borromeo  came  to  the  Con- 
federates in  Switzerland,  he  received  a  most  hearty 
welcome  from  the  catholic  cantons.  As  they  did  but  little 
for  scholastic  instruction,  he  established  a  priests'-school, 
or  seminary,  for  young  Swiss,  at  Milan.  He  also  decided 
that  a  papal  nuncio  should  always  reside  in  Switzerland. 
This  justly  displeased  the  evangelicals ;  they  feared  that 
such  a  representative  of  the  Roman  court  would  constantly 
interfere  in  civil  matters  by  spiritual  means,  produce  dis- 
cord, and  attempt  to  tyrannize.  Once,  when  a  nuncio 
came-  to  Berne  in  the  winter  of  1580,  the  government 
ordered  him  out  of  the  city,  and  the  boys  in  the  streets 
pelted  him  with  snow-balls. 

The  strife  between  catholics  and  protestants,  at  this 
time,  occupied  nearly  the  whole  world.  Spain,  Savoy  and 
the  emperor  were  the  most  zealous  partisans  of  the  pope. 


-158t;.J  CARDINAL   BORROMEO.  153 

But  the  Huguenots,  or  reformed,  almost  triumphed  in 
France.  The  Roman  court  attempted  to  persuade  the 
whole  catholic  world  to  undertake  a  war  for  life  and  death 
against  the  evangelicals.  They  called  this  a  holy  war.  In 
Switzerland,  cardinal  Borromeo  earnestly  urged  the  cath- 
olics to  form  a  strong  league  among  tnemselves  for  the 
support  of  their  church.  This  increased  the  anger  and 
animosity  of  the  evangelicals.  Men's  minds  were  embit- 
tered against  each  other.  Excesses  were  committed  on 
both  sides.  It  went  so  far  that  the  reformed  refused  to 
receive  the  newly-improved  calendar  which  then  appeared 
(1582),  because  it  had  been  perfected  by  order  of  a  pope. 
The  evangelicals  were  so  distrustful  of  every  thing,  even 
of  what  was  good,  which  came  from  Rome,  that  they  pre- 
ferred to  adhere  to  the  defective  reckoning  of  the  old  cal- 
endar. This  almost  occasioned  a  bloody  civil  war. 

The  dispute  about  the  old  and  new  calendars  induced 
the  seven  catholic  cantons  to  favor  the  cardinal's  projected 
league  for  the  support  of  the  Roman  church.  On  the  10th 
of  October,  1586,  deputies  from  Lucerne,  Uri,  Schwyz,  Un- 
terwalden,  Zug,  Solothurn  and  Freiburg  assembled  in  the 
city  of  Lucerne,  and  there  swore  to  the  league,  which  was 
called  the  Golden  or  Borromean.  It  had  better  have  been 
called  the  Bloody.  It  separated  Confederates 'from  Con- 
federates still  further. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

INSURRECTION     AT     MUHLHAUSKN.        THE     RHODES      OF     APPENZELL 
SEPARATE.       THE    DUKE    OF    SAVOY    TRIES    TO    SURPRISE    GENEVA. 

[A.  D.  158T  to  1603.] 

FROM  this  period,  the  catholic  cantons  were  more  closely 
united  with  foreigners  than  with  the  Swiss  of  evangelical 
faith.  The  foreign  powers  were  pleased  with  this,  because 
they  knew  how  to  take  advantage  of  the  division.  Then 
came  the  embassador  of  Spain  and  scattered  gold,  and 
made  a  treaty  for  his  king  (1587)  with  Lucerne,  Uri, 

•7* 


154  FRENCH  BATTLE-FIELDS.  [1587- 

Schwyz,  Unterwalden,  Zug  and  Freiburg.  Then  came 
the  papal  nuncio  and  preached  war  against  the  reformed 
or  Huguenots  in  France;  and  more  than  eight  thou- 
sand catholic  Swiss  marched  to  take  part  in  that  foreign 
civil  strife.  Then  came  messengers  from  the  Huguenots 
and  preached  war  in  defence  of  the  evangelical  faith 
in  France ;  and  thousands  of  reformed  Swiss  and  Grisons 
marched  to  the  bloody  French  battle-fields,  while  the  can- 
tonal governments  pretended  to  know  nothing  about  the 
matter.  On  foreign  soil,  for  vile  hire,  Swiss  murdered 
their  own  brothers  in  honor  of  God,  as  followers  of  Jesus. 
Such  was  the  result  of  religious  hate. 

Thisevil  spirit  spread  its  poison  every  where.  Even 
the  most  insignificant  quarrels  became  the  cause  of  great 
misfortunes,  as  was  the  case  at  Muhlhausen  (Mulhouse). 

The  city  of  Muhlhausen,  in  Alsace,  is  of  very  ancient 
origin.  For  about  five  centuries  it  was,  like  most  of  the 
cities  of  Switzerland,  a  free  city  of  the  German  empire; 
for  one  or  two  hundred  years  it  had  had  a  defensive  alli- 
ance with  Bale,  then  with  Berne,  Freiburg  and  Solothurn, 
finally  (since  1515)  it  had  been  an  ally  of  the  Confederates, 
with  seat  and  voice  in  the  diets.  Now  it  happened  that 
the  Finninger  family  of  this  city  had  and  lost  a  law-suit 
with  other  citizens  respecting  a  piece  of  wood-land.  In 
their  auger,  the  Finningers  appealed  to  the  Austrian  gov- 
ernment atEnsisheim,  then  to  the  Diet  of  the  Confederates. 
And,  as  the  Catholic  Swiss  were  told  that  this  was  a  good 
opportunity  to  bring  Muhlhausen  back  to  the  old  faith, 
they  embraced  the  cause  of  the  Finningers  and  threatened 
the  city-council  of  Muhlhausen  with  the  disruption  of  the 
ancient  alliance.  The  city-council  thereupon  applied  to 
the  evangelical  cantons,  who  decided  in  their  favor.  At 
once,  the  catholic  cantons  and  Appenzell  sent  to  Muhl- 
hausen the  treaty  of  alliance  with  the  seals  torn  off.  The 
Finninger  party  made  a  disturbance  at  this,  gained  over 
the  people,  and  deposed  the  city-council  as  having  occa- 
sioned the  rupture  with  the  Confederates.  The  evange- 
lical cantons  wished  to  mediate  and  settle  the  matter  ami- 
cably, but  were  not  listened  to;  and  when  they  threatened 
to  restore  the  old  order  of  things  by  force,  the  citizens 


-1608.]  LANDAMMANN  MEGGELIN.  155 

armed,  and  obtained  reinforcements  of  Austrian  soldiers. 
The  reformed  Confederates  immediately  sent  troops,  under 
the  lead  of  general  d'Erlach ;  six  hundred  Balese  in  ad- 
vance. Heavy  artillery  thundered  from  the  city  walls. 
In  the  middle  of  the  night,  the  Swiss  assailed  and  forced 
the  gate.  There  were  combats  and  massacres  in  all  the 
streets  ;  the  citizens  were  conquered ;  the  foreign  garrison 
was  disarmed  and  sent  away,  and  quiet  restored  by  the  de- 
capitation of  the  principal  insurgents.  But  from  that  year 
(1587)  Muhlhausen  lost  her  alliance  with  the  catholic  Con- 
federates, and  never  again  recovered  the  right  of  voting  in 
the  Diet. 

Shortly  afterwards  the  canton  of  Appenzell  was  threat- 
ened with  no  less  serious  calamities.  Here,  evangelicals 
and  catholics  had  hitherto  lived  with  one  another;  the 
evangelicals  being  more  numerous  in  the  Outer  Rhodes, 
the  catholics  in  the  Inner  and  in  the  chief  town  Appenzell. 
Now,  the  capuchins  came  into  the  country,  and  secretly 
preached  that  the  reformed  must  be  brought  back  to  the 
catholic  church  by  force;  the  landammann  Meggelin,  a 
zealous  partisan  of  the  ancient  faith,  wished  to  make  a  be- 
ginning. He  cited  twenty-seven  reformed  young  men 
to  answer  before  the  assembly  of  the  two  councils,  and 
caused  the  council-hall  to  be  surrounded  by  catholic  peas- 
ants. In  case  the  twenty-seven  would  not  submit,  he  was 
to  give  a  signal  from  the  windows,  the  council  were  to  re- 
tire immediately,  and  the  peasants  to  fall  upon  the  young 
recusants.  But  he  had  not  managed  well.  When  the 
men  would  not  submit,  and  he  was  hastening  to  the  win- 
dow, the  lords  of  the  council  to  the  door,  the  seven  and 
twenty  produced  the  arms  they  had  concealed  under  their 
cloaks,  and  so  terrified  the  landammann  that  he  shouted 
from  the  window :  "  Peace  ;  disperse !"  So  the  peasants 
dispersed,  and  the  twenty -seven  retired  without  injury. 
That  day  (14  May,  1587),  was  the  beginning  of  many  dis- 
turbances. 

From  that  time  the  parties  harassed  and  persecuted  each 
other  bitterly.  The  reformed  were  oppressed  in  the  Inner, 
the  catholics  in  the  Outer  Rhodes.  Prisoners  were  made ; 
more  than  once  the  tocsin  was  sounded ;  more  than  once 


166  LANDAMMANN  TANNER.  [1587- 

arms  were  seized.  Enlightened  patriots,  however,  hap- 
pily prevented  a  civil  war.  Finally,  when  concord  could 
not  De  reestablished  in  the  councils,  nor  in  the  parishes  or 
meetings  of  the  communes,  nor  in  the  general  assemblies, 
the  intervention  of  the  Confederates  was  invoked.  But 
the  Confederates,  unhappily,  were  rather  partisans  than 
judges.  The  catholics  supported  the  catholics,  the  re- 
formed supported  the  reformed.  At  last,  the  Appenzell- 
ers  said :  "  This  will  not  restore  peace ;  the  country  must 
be  divided  and  each  division  have  its  own  faith,  its  own 
magistrates,  and  its  own  tribunal." 

This  did  in  fact  take  place  after  ten  years  of  troubles, 
and  the  act  of  division  was  signed  on  the  8th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1597.  The  land  and  rights,  the  banners  and  seals, 
even  the  arms  in  the  arsenal,  were  divided  between  the 
Outer  and  Inner  Rhodes.  The  evangelicals  established 
themselves  in  the  Outer  Rhodes,  and  altogether  numbered 
6322  persons;  the  catholics  dwelt  in  the  Inner  Rhodes, 
and  altogether  numbered  2782  persons.  But  the  two,  al- 
though divided,  as  were  Ob-  and  Nid-walden,  remained  one 
single  canton,  in  the  circle  of  the  Confederates,  as  did  Un- 
terwalden. 

This  satisfied  everybody,  except  landammann  Tanner 
of  the  Inner  Rhodes.  He  was  an  irreconcilable  enemy  of 
the  evangelicals  of  the  Outer  Rhodes,  and  did  not  wish  to 
be  at  peace  with  them ;  he  constantly  excited  fresh  troubles 
and  disorders,  and  hoped  to  persuade  the  catholic  cantons 
to  compel  the  Outer  Rhodes  to  yield  all  their  prerogatives 
to  the  six  or  seven  catholics  living  there.  Tanner  did  not 
succeed  in  this,  and  finally  became  so  odious  to  his  fellow- 
citizens  on  account  of  his  actions  and  opinions,  that  he  lost 
all  his  property,  estates  and  dignities,  begged  his  bread 
from  place  to  place,  and  died  miserably  in  a  cow-house  in 
Thurgau. 

It  was  indeed  fortunate  for  Switzerland  that  the  kings 
and  princes,  busied  with  constant  wars,  could  not  interfere 
in  the  domestic  troubles  of  the  Swiss.  Otherwise,  her  inde- 
pendence would  probably  have  been  endangered  more  than 
once.  But  Spain  and  Milan  were  at  war  with  France  and 
the  German  emperor  with  the  Turks.  Each  desired  aux- 


-1603.]  HENRY   IV.    OF   FRANCE.  157 

iliaries  from  the  Swiss.  But  the  Confederates,  either  be- 
cause they  would  not  trust  each  other,  or  because  one  part 
preferred  one  prince  ami  the  other  part  another,  held  them- 
selves aloof.  They  frequently  endeavored,  by  friendly  in- 
tervention, to  reconcile  the  king  of  France  and  the  king  of 
Spain.  Zurich  besought  the  emperor,  Lucerne  besought 
the  pope,  to  turn  their  hearts  to  thoughts  of  peace.  Thes,; 
attempts  had  small  success. 

Thereat,  and  because  Henry  IV.  of  France  was  beloved 
for  his  virtues  and  valor  by  both  catholics  and  protestants, 
and  because  he  promised  to  pay  to  Switzerland  400,000 
crowns  annually  in  settlement  of  outstanding  debts,  and, 
moreover,  sent  a  million  of  ready  money  by  his  embassa- 
dor,  all  hearts  were  turned  to  him.  And  they  made  a  new 
league  with  him  in  1602. 

This  displeased  the  Spaniards,  as  well  as  the  pope  and 
the  duke  of  Savoy.  All  three  hated  the  valiant  king 
Henry  IV.  And  the  duke  of  Savoy  thought  this  the 
best  time  to  get  possession  of  the  beautiful  city  of  Ge- 
neva. So  he  secretly  sent  his  general  Brunaulieu  and  his 
soldiers,  with  some  Spaniards,  to  surprise  the  city  in  the 
midst  of  peace.  In  a  dark  night  (between  the  llth  and 
12th  of  December,  1602),  they  advanced  to  the  walls,  ap- 
plied their  scaling  ladders,  clambered  up  and  thought 
themselves  the  winners.  But  a  Genevese  sentinel  heard 
the  noise  and  discharged  his  musket.  The  watchman  drop- 
ped the  port-cullis ;  the  citizens  were  awakened,  ran  to  the 
walls  in  arms,  with  shouts  of:  "The  enemy !  the  enemy!" 
killed  those  who  had  entered  the  city,  and  threw  down  the 
scaling  ladders.  The  Savoyards  retired  with  considerable 
loss.  Thirteen  of  their  nobles  were  made  prisoners  and 
executed  the  next  day. 

Berne  and  Zurich  immediately  sent  auxiliaries  into  the 
city,  and  compelled  the  duke  to  make  a  treaty  of  peace 
(llth  July,  1603),  by  which  he  agreed  never  more  to  sta- 
tion troops  within  four  miles  of  Geneva,  to  build  no  fort- 
ress there,  and  never  again  to  attack  the  city.  Since  that 
time  the  Genevese  annually  celebrate  the  night  of  the  Esca- 
lade as  a  festival  of  joy  and  triumph, 


158  THE  BISHOP  OF  BALE.  [1608- 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

TROUBLES  IN  BIENNE.       CONSPIRACY  AGAINST   GENEVA.       THE   BLACK 
DEATH.       COMMENCEMENT    OF    CIVIL    WAR    IN    GRISONS. 

[A.  D.  1608  to  1618.] 

AT  the  same  time  that  the  Genevese  were  successfully 
defending  their  youthful  liberty  against  the  attempts  of 
the  duke  of  Savoy,  the  people  in  Valais  fought  their  last 
bitter  fight  about  religious  matters.  Here  the  reformed 
were  inferior  in  numbers;  therefore  they  succumbed. 
They  had  already  been  merely  tolerated  for  more  than 
fifty  years,  in  virtue  of  an  agreement  made  in  1551,  but  at 
last  were  no  longer  allowed.  The  bishop  and  council  or- 
dered them  to  sell  their  property  and  to  leave  their  coun- 
try. In  vain  did  the  evangelical  cantons  intercede  (1603). 
The  catholic  cantons,  Lucerne  at  their  head,  with  much 
expenditure  of  money,  but  behind  all  the  nuncio  of  the 
Roman  court,  insisted,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  re- 
formed and  their  clergy  should  be  driven  out.  And  they 
were  driven  out  and  saw  the  land  of  their  fathers  no  more. 

So  the  citizens  of  Bienne  had  a  strife  with  their  bishop. 
Bienne  is  an  old  city,  pleasantly  situated  on  her  lake. 
She  had  long  been  subject  to  the  counts  of  Neuchatel  with 
peculiar  privileges ;  later  (in  1274),  she  had  been  trans- 
ferred to  the  bishop  of  Bale,*  who,  in  order  to  gain  her 
affection,  had  conferred  on  her  the  franchises  of  a  free  im- 
perial city.  With  these  franchises,  the  city  soon  became 
flourishing  ;  her  arms  were  victorious  in  many  a  feud,  and 
the  dwellers  in  the  valley  of  Erguel  followed  her  banner. 
To  protect  her  rights,  she  early  (1279)  entered  into  alli- 
ance and  coburghership  with  Berne,  then  with  Solothurn 
also  (1382),  and  a  century  later  (1496)  with  Freiburg. 
She  had  a  good  understanding  with  all  the  Confederates, 
and  was  therefore  honored  as  an  allied  city.  At  last 
(1554)  she  tried  to  purchase  all  the  bishop's  rights  over 

*  The  territory  subject  to  the  bishop  of  Bale  was  entirely  distinct  from 
that  subject  to  the  city  of  Bale. 


-1618.]  HECTOR  OF  BEROLDINGEN.  159 

her  citizens  and  over  the  district  of  Erguel,  so  that  she 
might  become  the  capital  of  a  fine  territory.  But  the  pro- 
ject failed  and  occasioned  many  calamities  and  a  quarrel 
between  Bienne  and  the  bishop  of  Bale.  Finally  (1610) 
the  dispute  was  settled  by  Confederate  arbitrators :  Bienne, 
continuing  to  render  homage  to  the  bishop  as  prince  of  the 
country,  was  to  form  no  new  alliance  without  his  consent 
and  that  of  the  Confederates ;  the  bishop,  retaining  his 
rights  over  the  city,  was  compelled  again  to  confirm  the 
franchises  of  Bienne  and  to  permit  the  troops  of  Erguel  to 
march  under  the  banner  of  the  city,  in  war,  as  before. 

We  should  speak  of  many  other  disturbances  and  dis- 
cords in  those  times  ;  of  the  conspiracy  of  two  Frenchmen, 
Du  Terreil  and  La  Basside,  who  wished  to  surprise  the 
city  of  Geneva  by  treachery  (1609)  and  deliver  her  to  the 
duke  of  Savoy,  but  were  betrayed  and  executed ;  of  the 
troubles  in  Thurgau  (1610)  where  drunken  peasants  at  a 
wedding  in  Gachnang  maltreated  the  signior  Hector  of 
Beroldingen,  demolished  his  chapel,  and  stoned  the  bailiffs 
lieutenant,  which  occasioned  so  serious  and  wide-spread  a 
dispute  between  the  evangelical  and  catholic  cantons,  that 
the  latter  would  no  longer  sit  in  Diet  with  the  Zurichers, 
and  both  parties  threatened  war,  until  the  successful  inter- 
vention of  the  other  Confederates.  But  greater  and  more 
terrible  misfortunes  claim  our  attention. 

The  plague  broke  out  in  Switzerland.  This  horrid  dis- 
ease was  called  the  "black  death."N  It  came  from  distant 
countries  to  Bale  (1610),  where  it  killed  nearly  four  thou- 
sand persons.  On  the  next  year,  it  penetrated  deeper  into 
the  land :  to  Berne  and  Solothurn  and  Freiburg.  In  Zu- 
rich, five  thousand  persons  died  ;  nearly  two  thousand  in 
the  country  of  Glarus  ;  even  more  in  Toggenburg  and  Ap- 
penzell.  At  Sarnen  in  Obwalden,  two  hundred  and  eighty 
bodies  were  buried  in  one  grave.  In  Thurgau  the  black 
death  depopulated  whole  villages,  and  the  fields  remained 
untilled,  because  there  were  no  hands  to  cultivate  them. 
When  the  dead  were  counted  in  Thurgau,  the  number  was 
33,584.  Nearly  one-fourth  of  the  people  were  buried, 
everywhere. 

The  hand  of  the  black  death  reached  as  far  as  the  high 


160  HERCULES  OF  SALIS.  [160E- 

valleys  of  Grisons.  Bfrt  other  scourges,  the  work  of  man 
himself,  then  desolated  those  valleys. 

Since  the  king  of  Spain  had  become  master  of  Milan 
and  of  Lombardy,  he  had  secretly  tried  to  obtain  also  Val- 
telina,  a  country  subject  to  Grisons.  that  he  might  border 
on  Austria  by  Tyrol.  For  Austria  was  the  best  ally  of 
Spain,  and  could  send  no  aid  to  Milan  except  through  the 
territory  of  Venice  or  Grisons.  Therefore  the  governor 
of  Milan,  following  his  king's  instructions,  constantly  inter- 
fered in  the  affairs  of  Valteliua,  where  many  disputes  ex- 
isted among  the  people,  especially  on  matters  of  religion. 
For  since  Grisons  (1552)  had  allowed  to  the  Yalteliners 
the  free  exercise  of  the  evangelical  worship,  the  inhabit- 
ants of  many  communes  had  adopted  it,  and  there  was 
enmity  against  them  on  the  part  of  the  catholics. 

The  king  of  France,  being  inimical  to  Austria  and 
Spain,  warned  the  Grisons  of  the  designs  of  Spain.  The 
republic  of  Venice,  which  feared  the  union  of  the  Austrian 
and  Spanish  forces,  did  the  same.  Venice,  as  well  as 
France  and  Spain,  sent  embassadors  to  Grisons,  to  gain 
the  chiefs  and  principal  men  by  promises  and  presents. 
This  gratified  the  lords ;  some  of  them  were  interested  for 
France,  others  for  Spain,  few  for  their  own  country.  At 
the  head  of  the  Spanish  party  was  Rudolf  Planta ;  at  the 
head  of  the  French,  Hercules  of  Salis.  The  former,  in  the 
beginning,  had  the  power  and  most  of  the  catholic  com- 
munes on  his  side.  The  Spanish  governor  of  Milan  built 
a  fortress  on  a  hill  by  the  lake  of  Como,  and  called  it  Fu- 
entes,  from  his  own  name  (1604).  Thence  he  looked  far 
into  the  valleys  of  Chiavemra  and  Valtelina ;  he  thus  held 
in  his  hand  the  key  of  the  principal  Grison  pass.* 

This  terrified  the  Grison  people  and  occasioned  much 
excitement.  Each  party  blamed  the  other.  The  com- 
munes raised  their  banners  and  established  a  criminal  court 
at  Coire,  to  try  the  traitors.  As  happens  in  popular  dis- 
turbances, the  innocent  and  guilty  were  imprisoned,  ban- 
ished and  stripped  of  their  property;  George  Beeli,  the 

*  The  pass  of  the  Splugenberg.  The  road  over  the  Bernardin,  the 
other  important  pasa  from  the  Grison  territory  into  Italy,  was  constructed 
more  recently. 


-1618.]  RUDOLF  PLANTA.  161 

Austrian  bailiff  at  Castels,  and  Caspar  Baselga,  formerly 
captain  for  the  prince-bishop  at  Furstenberg,  were  be- 
headed on  the  common  place  of  execution  in  the  city  of 
Coire  (1607).  They  had  served  the  Spaniards  more  faith- 
fully than  their  fatherland.  The  Confederacy  asked  in 
vain  for  their  lives.  Beeli  acknowledged  his  guilt  on  the 
scaffold  and  said :  "  The  citizen  of  a  free  country  ceases  to 
be  a  freeman,  when  he  attaches  much  value  to  the  favor 
of  foreign  princes !" 

A  new  criminal  court  at  Ilanz  shortly  afterwards  miti- 
gated many  of  the  sentences.  But  party  hate  was  not 
mitigated.  Spanish  and  French  gold  fomented  it.  One 
recruited  in  favor  of  Venice  and  France,  another  in  favor 
of  Milan.  Each  wished  for  vengeance,  for  foreign  pensions 
and  presents,  and  to  become  great.  New  tribunals  were 
assembled,  new  injustices  committed,  new  enmities  excited ; 
at  last  the  Spanish,  as  well  as  the  Venetian,  alliance  was 
rejected.  Finally,  communes  stood  against  communes, 
brothers  against  brothers.  In  the  valley  of  Engadine,  the 
divided  people  marched  with  arms  into  the  field ;  at  the 
head  of  the  Spanish  party  was  Augustin  Travers,  Rudolf 
Planta's  brother-in-law ;  at  the  head  of  the  Venetian  party, 
Anthony  Travers,  Augustin's  brother.  Some  men  were 
already  killed  on  both  sides  by  cannon  shot,  when  the 
wives  and  sisters  rushed  wailing  between  their  brothers 
and  husbands,  and  pacified  the  raging  combatants. 

But  the  flame  thus  quenched  by  the  love  of  tender 
women  was  soon  rekindled  by  the  fanaticism  of  hard- 
hearted priests.  At  Bergun,  in  a  wild  mountain-valley 
among  glaciers,  the  evangelical  clergy  of  the  country  as- 
sembled for  church  business  (1618).  Some  of  them  said 
that  the  governor  of  Milan  had  sent  large  sums  into  the 
land  to  procure  the  acceptance  of  the  Spanish  treaty,  and 
that,  if  he  did  not  succeed,  he  meant  to  excite  a  rebellion 
in  Valtelina,  that  he  might  overwhelm  all  the  evangelicals 
in  one  fearful  pool  of  blood. 

When  this  was  reported  through  the  country,  the  fright- 
ened people  rose;  first  in  Engadine,  whence  Rudolf 
Planta  was  compelled  to  flee  into  Tyrol.  A  reformed 
pastor,  George  Jenatsch,  marched  against  him  with  an 


162  ZAMBRA  AND   RTJSCA.  [1618- 

arraed  force  from  Samaden.  A  criminal  court  was  assem- 
bled at  Thusis,  and  conducted  with  great  cruelty  by  re- 
formed pastors.  Eudolf  Planta  was  there  declared  an 
outlaw,  as  was  his  brother  Pompey.  There  John  Flugi, 
bishop  of  Coire,  who  had  fled,  was  sentenced  to  lose  prop- 
erty and  life ;  Augustin  Travers  was  banished  in  perpetuity ; 
many  others  were  proscribed  and  punished ;  most  severely 
Nicholas  Rusca,  arch-priest  of  Badano  and  Valtelina.  and 
John  Baptist  Prevost,  surnamed  Zambra,  landammann  of 
Pregall.  Rusca,  a  pious  catholic  priest,  although  on  the 
rack  he  steadfastly  asserted  his  innocence  of  any  Spanish 
conspiracy,  died  in  prison,  poisoned,  as  was  said.  His 
body  was  buried  by  the  executioner.  And  the  landam- 
mann Zambra,  an  infirm  old  man  of  seventy-four,  was  be- 
headed with  the  sword,  because  he  acknowledged,  under 
torture,  that  he  had  received  pay  and  presents  from  Spain 
as  well  as  from  France. 

The  blood  of  Zambra  and  Rusca  cried  to  Heaven.  Now 
came  days  of  terror  and  lamentation  over  Rhetia.  Woe 
to  the  people  who  pretend  to  execute  justice  with  arms  in 
their  hands ! 


CHAPTER  XXXYIII. 

TERRIBLE      DESTRUCTION     OF      PLURS.        MASSACRE      IN      VALTELINA. 
CIVIL    WAR    AMONG    THE    ORISONS. 

[A,  D.  1618  to  1621.] 

NATURAL  calamities  preceded  those  which  the  passions 
of  men  soon  occasioned. 

In  the  valley  of  Chiavenna,  which  Grisons  governed  by 
bailiffs,  as  she  did  Valtelina  and  Bormio,  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountain  of  Conto,  lay  the  rich  town  of  Plurs,  with  many 
churches,  palaces  and  pleasure-gardens,  like  a  beautiful 
city.  Many  trades  were  there  pursued,  and,  among  other 
things,  more  than  twenty  thousand  pounds  of  silk  were 
manufactured  there  yearly. 

But  it  happened  that,  on  the  4th  of  September,  1618, 


-1621-]  SLIDE  OF  MOUNT  CONTO.  163 

after  many  days  of  heavy  rain,  a  portion  of  the  soil  of 
mount  Conto  slid  and  covered  several  vineyards.  The 
shepherds  hastened  to  Plurs  to  warn  the  inhabitants,  and 
said:  "The  mountain  has  shown  large  cracks  for  many 
years;  the  cows  often  run  from  it  with  loud  lowings." 
Others  came  and  said :  "In  the  neighboring  villages,  the 
bees  have  deserted  their  hives  in  swarms,  and  have  fallen 
dead  from  the  air  to  the  ground."  The  people  of  Plurs 
did  not  regard  these  warnings. 

Suddenly,  at  nightfall,  the  earth  resounded  dismally 
and  to  a  great  distance.  Then  ensued  the  silence  of  death. 
The  bed  of  the  Maira  was  dry  for  two  hours.  When  the 
morning  came,  the  sky  was  seen  to  be  wonderfully  ob- 
scured by  dust  and  vapor.  The  rich  town  of  Plurs  and 
the  village  of  Cilano  were  buried  beneath  the  fallen  sum- 
mit of  mount  Conto.  Heaps  of  rocks  are  piled  hundreds 
of  feet  above  the  dwellings,  and  form  a  vast  tomb,  in 
which  lie  the  bodies  of  twenty-five  hundred  victims. 

This  filled  neighboring  Valtelina  with  horror.  But  men 
quickly  forgot  the  misfortunes  of  their  fellows;  sedition 
and  the  desire  to  avenge  the  death  of  pious  priest  Rusca, 
soon  displaced  all  their  feelings.  The  whole  of  the  Grrison 
country,  likewise,  shuddered  at  the  destruction  of  Plurs. 
But  party-hate  forgot  it  as  quickly.  Here,  the  relatives 
of  the  unfortunates  condemned  by  the  tribunal  of  Thusis, 
cried  for  vengeance  against  the  injustice  of  the  French 
party ;  there,  the  catholic  communes  loudly  accused  the 
reformed  with  wishing  to  extirpate  the  ancient  faith  from 
the  mountains  of  their  fatherland ;  the  banished  called  for 
assistance  to  the  Confederates,  to  the  house  of  Austria  and 
to  the  Spaniards  in  Milan. 

Many  of  the  Grey  league,  especially  the  Lugnetzers, 
once  more  raised  their  banners  and  marched  upon  Coire, 
to  obtain  justice ;  the  Engadiners,  Brettigauers  and  others 
of  the  French  party,  stood  in  arms  against  them.  When 
they  came  hand  to  hand,  and  some  had  been  slain,  the 
people  of  the  other  high-jurisdictions  forcibly  intervened 
and  instituted  at  Coire  an  impartial  tribunal  (June,  1619), 
which  mitigated  the  severe  sentences  of  Thusis,  and  re- 
called the  banished  of  Planta's  party. 


164  JACOB  ROBUSTELLI.  [1618- 

This  moderation  again  embittered  the  people  of  Enga- 
dine,  Munsterthal  and  Davos.  They  marched  once  more 
with  their  banners  to  Coire,  and  declared  the  sentences  of 
the  court  void.  In  vain  did  Thomas  of  Schauenstein, 
baron  of  Haldestein,  go  amicably  to  their  camp,  exhort 
them  to  abstain  from  violence,  and  propose:  "That,  to 
pacify  the  country,  the  chiefs  of  both  the  Planta  and  of 
the  Salis  parties  should  be  excluded  from  all  offices  for 
twenty  or  thirty  years."  This  pleased  no  one.  The  armed 
men  decided  rather  to  expel  from  the  country  the  embas- 
sadors  of  foreign  powers,  as  the  authors  of  all  the  troubles. 
They  drove  away  the  judges  at  Coire,  as  well  as  their  troops 
entrenched  near  Keichenau,  and  established  a  new  criminal 
court  at  Davos.  The  sentences  of  Coire  were  not  only 
confirmed,  but  even  aggravated,  and  the  recently-returned 
exiles  were  again  banished.  Here,  as  at  Thusis,  it  was 
the  reformed  ecclesiastics  who  principally  instigated  this 
pernicious  severity. 

Thereat  the  banished  brothers,  Rudolf  and  Pompey 
Planta,  went  to  the  archduke  of  Austria  to  invite  an  armed 
invasion  of  their  country.  They  enlisted  unemployed 
soldiers  in  Etschland ;  and  their  brother-in-law,  Jacob  Ro- 
bustelli,  stirred  up  the  Valteliners,  and  got  under  his  ban- 
ners many  vagabonds  from  the  Milanese. 

In  the  night  of  19th  July,  1620,  Jacob  Robustelli,  with 
his  bloodthirsty  hordes,  descended  into  the  valley  of  Val- 
telina.  There  the  conspiracy  for  the  murderous  destruc- 
tion of  all  the  reformed  in  the  country  was  ripe.  The 
village  of  Tirano,  chief  place  of  the  valley,  was  silently 
surrounded.  Four  musket-shots  gave  the  signal.  The 
massacre  began.  The  tocsins  howled.  From  village  to 
village,  the  reformed  were  beaten  down,  strangled,  shot, 
stoned  to  death,  and  their  bodies  thrown  into  the  waves  of 
the  Adda.  Neither  women,  nor  infants,  nor  old  men  were 
spared.  Some  had  their  noses,  their  ears,  their  cheeks  cut 
away ;  the  bowels  of  some  were  torn  out ;  gunpowder  was 
forced  into  the  throats  of  others  and  fired.  A  butcher 
boasted  that  he  had  killed  eighteen  persons.  The  head 
of  the  reformed  pastor  of  Tirano  was  stuck  on  a  pike  and 
placed  in  his  pulpit.  No  sacred  thing  remained  unprofaned. 


-1621.]  NICHOLAS   OF   MULLINEN.  165 

After  several  days  of  massacre,  Jacob  Robustelli  assumed 
the  chief  command  in  Valtelina ;  Bormio  united  with  him; 
Chiavenna,  alone,  remained  faithful  to  the  Orisons.  But 
the  latter,  divided  among  themselves,  were  still  more  so 
after  these  doings.  The  catholic  communes  of  the  Grey 
league,  persuaded  by  their  priests  and  the  heads  of  the 
Spanish  party,  refused  to  send  troops  against  the  insur- 
gents in  Valtelina.  On  the  other  hand,  from  several  high- 
jurisdictions  of  the  leagues  of  God's-house  and  the  Ten 
Jurisdictions,  nearly  two  thousand  men  passed  the  moun- 
tains under  command  of  Ulysses  Salis,  Hercules'  son,  and 
John  Guler.  While  these  were  advancing,  the  Plantas 
led  Austrian  troops,  under  General  Baldiron,  from  Tyrol 
into  the  Grison  district  of  Munsterthal,  and  threatened  to 
keep  possession  until  the  exiles  were  recalled ;  and  over 
Chiavenna  came  Milanese  soldiers  in  aid  of  the  Valte- 
liners.  The  Grison  troops,  already  in  possession  of  half 
of  Valtelina,  were  compelled  to  retire  before  superior 
forces  and  await  the  assistance  of  the  Confederates,  which 
had  been  called  for. 

But  as  the  Grisons,  so  were  the  Swiss  divided.  When 
Berne  sent  general  Nicholas  of  Mullinen  with  two  thousand 
men  towards  Rhetia,  the  catholic  cantons  closed  the  way 
against  him,  near  Mellingen  in  Aargau.  By  a  circuit,  he 
reached  Zurich,  whece  colonel  Jacob  Steiner  joined  him 
with  a  thousand  men.  When  they  wished  to  cross  the 
March,  the  Schwyzers  rose  in  a  body  against  them.  By 
another  circuit  they  reached  Grisons.  Thence,  united  with 
the  Grison  troops,  they  marched  upon  Bormio  and  arrived 
victorious  at  Tirano ;  but  the  catholic  banners  of  the  Grey 
league  would  not  go  with  them.  Before  Tirano  they  had 
a  bloody  fight  with  the  Spanish  troops  and  the  Valteliner 
insurgents  (llth  Sept.,  1620).  There  the  valiant  Nicholas 
of  Mullinen  died  the  death  of  a  hero,  and  all  the  Bernese 
officers,  excepting  one,  fell  with  him  under  the  walls  of 
Tirano.  Fluri  Sprecher,  one  of  the  Grison  colonels,  also 
fell,  as  did  many  others.  But  Tirano  remained  uncon- 
quered.  And  as  the  powder,  lead  and  matches  of  the 
army  began  to  fail,  it  marched  back  over  the  mountains 
into  Grisons. 


166  GEORGE  JENATSCH.  [1621. 

Here  Pompey  Planta  had  in  the  mean  while  put  in 
movement  the  Grey  league,  for  the  protection  of  which 
fifteen  hundred  men  had  come  from  the  catholic  cantons 
under  lead  of  colonel  John  Conrad  Beroldingen  of  Uri,  and 
encamped  near  Reichenau,  two  leagues  from  Coire.  They 
talked  of  making  the  Grey  league  a  fourteenth  canton  of 
the  Confederacy,  of  giving  Yaltelina  to  it  alone  and  sepa- 
rating it  from  the  rest  of  Grisons.  Such  a  rupture  of  old 
friendly  relations  greatly  disturbed  all  well-meaning  peo- 
ple. They  unitedly  demanded  a  reconciliation,  obtained 
the  recall  of  the  foreign  embassadors  who  had  been  ex- 
pelled, and  even  submission  to  the  Confederates.  But  the 
French  embassador,  when  he  came  again  into  the  country, 
renewed  his  former  intrigues  and  made  a  party  for  France. 
The  Spanish  governor  of  Milan,  on  his  side,  sent  emissa- 
ries with  gold,  to  stir  up  the  great  lords  and  the  communes 
against  France.  The  papal  nuncio,  also,  excited  the  cath- 
olic communes  against  the  evangelical.  The  deputies  of 
the  Confederates,  instead .  of  restoring  peace,  quarrelled 
bitterly  among  themselves,  so  that  they  returned  home 
without  settling  any  thing.  The  Bernese  army  followed 
them. 

Thereat  discord  and  hatred  increased  in  the  land. 
George  Jenatsch,  formerly  a  reformed  pastor,  now  a  man 
of  war,  with  some  soldiers,  surprised  Pompey  Planta  in 
the  castle  of  Bietberg  and  slew  him.  Then  he  assembled 
the  banners  of  Engadine,  Bergun  and  Munsterthal,  with 
them  vanquished  the  troops  of  the  catholic  cantons  in  the 
Grey  league,  and  after  a  seven  hours'  fight,  drove  them 
over  the  mountains  back  into  Uri  (llth  April,  1621). 
"With  defeated  Conrad  Beroldingen  fled  also  the  abbot  of 
Disentis,  Sebastian  of  Castelberg,  conscience-stricken  on 
account  of  the  Valtelina  massacre.  The  Grey  league,  sur- 
prised and  overpowered,  was  compelled  to  give  up  its  alli- 
ance with  Milan. 

Fresh  negotiations  were  opened  with  Spain  and  Austria 
for  the  restitution  of  Valtelina.  But  neither  Spain  nor 
Austria  was  in  earnest.  They  wished  to  hold  Valtelina, 
Chiavenna  and  Bormio,  and  even  Lower  Engadine  in  ad- 
dition, that  they  might  always  in  future  have  an  open 


1621.]  GENERAL  BALDIRON.  167 

communication  between  Tyrol  and  Milan,  for  mutual  help 
against  the  French.  At  last  the  people  of  several  com- 
munes, wearied  by  these  lengthened  negotiations,  seized 
their  arms  in  wild  disorder,  and  marched  against  Bormio 
and  Valtelina,  to  subdue  the  country  by  their  own  power. 
They  did  not  succeed,  and,  beaten  by  the  Spaniards,  re- 
turned home  again  with  loss  and  shame. 

This  ill-advised  expedition  of  the  people,  undertaken 
while  their  deputies  were  still  negotiating  with  the  arch- 
duke of  Austria,  greatly  excited  the  anger  of  this  prince. 
"Since  you  wish  for  war,  you  shall  have  war!"  said  he, 
and  ordered  his  troops  to  march  against  Grisons. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THK    GRISONS    ARE-   BROUGHT    UNDER    THE    AUSTRIAN   YOKE. 
[A.  D.  1621  to  1630.] 

ON  an  autumn-day  (1621)  powerful  forces  penetrated 
from  all  sides  into  the  land  of  the  Grisons.  Over  the 
mountains  and  through  the  valleys  of  Tyrol  came  many 
thousands  of  Austrians,  whom  Rudolf  Planta  guided  into 
his  own  fatherland.  The  imperial  general  Baldiron  put 
to  the  sword  all  who  opposed  him ;  slaying  and  burning, 
he  subjugated  the  whole  league  of  the  Ten  jurisdictions, 
disarmed  the  people,  and  compelled  them,  surrounded  by 
his  troops,  to  swear  fealty  to  the  house  of  Austria  on  their 
knees.  With  more  than  seven  thousand  Spaniards  and 
foreigners,  the  duke  of  Feria  came  over  from  Italy,  drove 
out  the  valiant  garrison  at  Chiaverma,  and  took  possession 
of  the  country.  When  the  soldiers  of  Zurich,  who  were 
posted  near  Maienfeld,  saw  this  overpowering  force,  they 
went  home. 

Then  general  Baldiron  practised  unprecedented  cruelties 
in  the  league  of  the  Ten  jurisdictions.  He  was  called  the 
new  Holofernes.  No  life  or  property  remained  safe  from 
his  soldiers.  The  peasants  were  treated  like  cattle.  An 


168  THE   BKETTIQAUERS.  [1621- 

imperial  ensign  rode  up  a  mountain  on  the  back  of  a  re- 
spectable countryman,  whom  a  soldier  drove  from  behind. 
"This  is  the  way  to  tame  these  wild  peasants!"  said  the 
ensign.  Many  capuchins  came  with  the  troops,  and  tried 
to  make  the  people  catholics.  The  reformed  clergy  were 
ejected  by  the  soldiers.  Seventy-five  churches  were  soon 
without  pastors.  The  bishop  of  Coire  was  greatly  pleased 
thereat. 

Then  said  the  valiant  people  in  Brettigau,  when  the 
soldiers  tried  to  force  them  to  attend  the  worship  of  the 
capuchins :  "  This  is  too  much !  If  we  must  lose  our 
country  and  our  liberty,  let  us  at  least  save  our  souls !" 
And  they  fled  into  the  woods,  which  became  their  arsenals. 
There  they  cut  clubs,  into  which  they  drove  large  nails  ; 
of  their  knives  they  made  daggers,  of  their  scythes  spears. 
Then,  on  Palm  Sunday  (1622)  they  rushed  forth  with  loud 
shouts,  surprised  the  garrison  and  camp  of  the  Austrians, 
and  slew  about  four  hundred  men,  took  many  prisoners, 
and  drove  the  rest  out  of  the  land.  They  marched  in  force 
to  the  city  of  Maienfeld  and  besieged  the  Austrians  who 
had  taken  refuge  there.  They  also  besieged  Baldiron  with 
his  Spaniards  and  Austrians  in  Coire.  At  the  success  of 
the  valiant  Brettigauers,  all  the  Orisons  of  the  Ten  juris 
dictions  boldly  rose,  with  warlike  Rudolf  of  Salis,  landam- 
mann  Peter  (ruler  of  Davos,  and  Thuring  Enderli  of 
Maienfeld  at  their  head.  To  them  hastened  the  friends  of 
liberty  from  the  rest  of  Orisons  and  from  Switzerland, 
especially  the  valiant  Appenzellers.  Other  Swiss  sent 
money.  Baldiron  retired  with  shame.  The  Orisons  said 
to  the  Diet  of  the  Confederates:  "Stand  by  us,  when  the 
enemy  returns !"  But  the  Confederates,  as  usual,  quar- 
relled among  themselves  and  sent  no  help. 

Cruel  Baldiron  did  in  fact  return  with  fresh  forces  (Jul}r, 
1622).  He  led  ten  thousand  soldiers  over  the  mountains. 
Old  men,  women  and  children  were  massacred  by  the  furl; 
ous  enemy.  There  was  fighting  in  the  valleys,  there  was 
fighting  above  the  clouds  on  the  highest  Alps.  But  the 
overpowering  forces  of  the  enemy  conquered.  The  lasT 
combat  took  place  (5  Sept.)  in  Brettigau  itself,  near  Rasch- 
nals,  on  Aquasana  plain.  Here,  when  after  a  bloody  fight. 


-1680-]  WOE  TO  THE  CONQUERED!  169 

tlae  little  troop  of  Orisons  was  broken  and  yielded,  thirty 
men  of  Brettigau  stood  firm  ;  unwilling  to  survive  their 
country's  precious  liberty,  they  devoted,  themselves  to  a 
glorious  death.  They  raised  their  clubs,  with  bowed  heads 
they  rushed  impetuously  into  the  ranks  of  the  Austrians, 
fought  terribly  in  the  thick  crowd  and  fell,  man  after  man, 
like  heroes,  surrounded  by  the  bodies  of  numerous  ene- 
mies. The  banners  of  the  city  of  Coire  and  of  the  Grey 
league  arrived  too  late  to  help.  When  from  a  distance 
they  saw  the  flames  of  so  many  villages  and  that  all  was 
lost,  they  sadly  turned  away. 

Woe  to  the  conquered  !  Now  they  suffered  the  greatest 
misery.  Now  were  they  pillaged,  robbed  and  murdered. 
The  soldiers  put  trembling  old  men  to  the  sword,  outraged 
the  women,  and  when  there  was  nothing  more  to  plunder, 
carried  off  and  sold  even  the  bells  of  the  churches.  Many 
hundred  unfortunates  wandered  away ;  many  hundreds 
died  of  starvation  and  of  the  Hungarian  plague.  This  was 
a  fatal  pain  in  the  head. 

The  God's-house  and  Grey  leagues  sent  supplicating 
messengers  to  the  plenipotentiary  of  the  Archduke  of  Aus- 
tria, at  Lindau  (Sept).  The  Confederates  also,  moved  by 
compassion,  interceded.  But  the  Archduke  obstinately 
persisted  in  his  determination  :  The  Ten -jurisdictions  must 
be  subject  to  his  ducal  house,  and  the  two  other  Leagues 
must  always  allow  a  passage  to  the  Austrians  and  Spaniards. 
The  catholic  Confederates,  well  pleased  in  their  hearts, 
aggravated  by  their  reproaches  the  misfortunes  of  the  Gri- 
sons  and  said :  "  We  have  often  warned  you."  But  the 
burgomaster  of  Zurich,  John  Henry  Holzhalb,  said :  "  Dear 
allies,  place  no  reliance  on  any  help  from  us  at  present. 
We  have  too  much  to  do  at  home.  We  see  that  you  must 
undergo  a  great  deal.  Our  Lord  God  will  send  you  better 
help  in  time.  For  the  present,  do  your  best  to  save  your 
country  from  utter  destruction." 

When  the  Grisons  saw  that  they  were  deserted  by  the 
Confederates,  they  resigned  themselves  to  drink  the  bitter 
cup.  Eight  jurisdictions  and  Lower  Engadine  were  sepa- 
rated from  the  Bhetian  league  and  became  completely  sub- 
ject to  Austria.  There  was  great  suffering.  The  disorders 
8  '  p 


170  THE   COUNT  OF  COEUVRES.  [1621- 

of  the  soldiery,  the  violence  of  the  Austrian  officers,  the 
encroachments  of  the  bishop  of  Coire  were  unrestrained. 

Then  God  touched  the  heart  of  the  king  of  France.  He 
made  a  treaty  (1623)  with  the  pope,  with  Venice  and  Sa- 
voy. He  could  not  allow  the  Austrians  always  to  have  a 
free  passage  over  the  Orison  Alps,  and  thus  to  become  all- 
powerful  in  Italy.  When  the  emperor  at  Vienna  and  the 
king  of  Spain  heard  of  the  preparations  of  France,  they  at 
once  accepted  the  proposition  of  the  pope  that  he  should 
provisorily  occupy  and  hold  Valtelina,  Chiavenna  and 
Bormio,  until  the  settlement  of  matters  between  the  kings. 
And  this  was  done. 

But  the  king  of  France,  not  pleased  with  this,  sent  his 
troops  through  Switzerland  to  Orisons  (1624).  Berne  and 
Zurich  gave  him  passage.  All  the  exiled  Orisons  formed 
the  vanguard  of  the  army.  The  hero  Eudolf  of  Salis 
led  them,  with  valiant  colonel  George  Jenatsch  and  many 
others.  Zurich  also  sent  troops  under  colonel  Caspar 
Schmied ;  as  did  Berne,  under  brave  Nicholas  of  Diesbach. 
The  bands  of  Valais  came  likewise.  When  all  these  drew 
near,  the  whole  of  Grisons  rose  joyfully  in  arms.  The 
garrisons  of  Austria  and  their  cruel  officers  were  driven 
from  the  Ten-jurisdictions  by  the  united  forces  (1625) ; 
Chiavenna,  Bormio  and  Valtelina  were  reconquered. 

As  soon  as  the  league  of  the  Ten-jurisdictions  was  reuni- 
ted to  the  others,  the  Ehetians  expected  that  their  French 
auxiliaries  would  restore  to  them  all  their  subject  coun- 
tries. But  the  French  general  the  count  of  Coeuvres  said : 
"  Not  so !  Valtelina,  Chiavenna  and  Bormio  shall  pay  to 
you  an  annual  tribute  of  25,000  crowns ;  but,  in  return, 
these  countries  shall  choose  their  own  magistrates ;  you 
shall  not  send  to  them  either  governors  or  garrisons." 

The  Grisons  were  aggrieved  at  this,  and  still  more  so 
when  the  kings  of  France  and  Spain  made  a  peace  at 
Monzona  in  Arragou  (5  March,  1626)  and  solemnly  con- 
firmed nearly  all  that  the  count  of  Coeuvres  had  said 
The  treaty  of  Monzona  was  executed  in  full.  The  foreign 
troops  left  Grisons,  and,  for  security,  the  pope's  soldiers 
occupied  Valtelina  (1627).  The  eniperorin  Germany  hav- 
ing a  good  understanding  with  Spain,  was  quiet  for  the  time. 


-1680.]  GREAT  MISERY.  171 

However,  as  soon  as  Spain  and  France  broke  their 
peace,  and  began  a  fresh  war  in  Italy,  the  emperor 
marched  a  force  of  forty  thousand  men  into  the  Grison 
country,  so  suddenly  that  no  resistance  was  possible 
(1629).  A  part  of  the  troops  went  to  help  the  Spaniards 
in  Lombardy ;  the  rest  subjected  the  Grisons  in  their  own 
country.  The  Ten-jurisdictions  again  became  subject  to 
Austria;  Lower  Engadine  the  same.  The  emperor's  sword 
was  law  to  the  whole  of  Grisons. 

Such  was  the  misery  of  the  people  at  this  time,  that  all 
hope  of  better  days  was  lost.  The  passages  and  canton- 
ments of  foreign  troops  increased  from  day  to  day ;  barns 
and  stables  were  emptied.  The  peasants  had  to  build  for- 
tifications for  the  soldiers.  Pestilential  diseases  spread,  so 
that  nearly  twelve  thousand  men  died  thereof.  Then 
came  the  bishop  of  Coire  and  added  to  their  misery  by 
compelling  all  who  had  formerly  been  subject  and  tribu- 
tary to  his  bishopric,  again  to  become  subject  and  tribu- 
tary, in  perpetuity.  There  was  no  justice,  no  mercy. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

THE    ORISONS   RECOVER    THEIR    LIBERTY. 
[A.  D.  1630  to  1MO.] 

BUT  so  long  as  a  people  do  not  lose  their  desire  for 
freedom,  and  faith  in  themselves,  nothing  is  irretrievably 
lost.  Then  God  always  sends  a  day  of  salvation.  Such 
was  the  experience  of  the  men  in  the  Grison  country. 

When  all  were  bowed  under  misery  and  oppression,  the 
emperor  made  peace  with  the  French  at  Cherasco  in  Italy 
(Jun^,  1630),  and  agreed  to  withdraw  his  garrisons  from 
the  Grison  valleys.  The  emperor,  at  this  time,  was  sore 
pressed  by  war  in  Germany,  and  the  great  Swedish  king, 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  had  crossed  the  sea  against  him  with 
his  army. 

A.s  soon  as  the   Austrians  left  the  Leagues,  and  their 


172  DUKE   HENRY   OF   ROHAN.  [1630- 

fortresses  had  been  blown  up,  all  the  people  joyfully  re- 
newed their  oath  to  the  ancient  compact  for  liberty,  and 
stationed  six  thousand  men  under  arms  to  defend  the 
frontiers  of  their  fatherland.  And  as,  at  the  same  time, 
there  came  to  Coire  the  renowned  warrior,  duke  Henry 
of  Rohan,  embassador  from  the  king  of  France  to  the 
Confederates  and  Grisons,  they  made  him  their  general 
(1631),  and  gave  him  great  power.  He  was  a  wise  and 
loyal  as  well  as  a  valiant  lord,  who  loved  the  free  Grisons. 
He  fortified  .all  the  defiles  towards  Germany  and  Tyrol, 
brought  a  reinforcement  of  French  troops  into  the  country 
(1632),  and  put  every  thing  on  the  best  footing.  While 
his  king  was  at  peace  with  the  emperor,  he  could  not,  as 
the  Grisons  wished,  enter  Valtelina  with  an  armed  force. 
Thus  passed  nearly  three  years. 

When  France  finally  joined  Sweden  against  the  em- 
peror, and  a  fresh  war  broke  out,  the  French  king  notified 
the  duke  of  Rohan  that  he  need  no  longer  delay  to  gratify 
the  wishes  of  the  Grisons.  Rohan  secretly  opened  nego- 
tiations with  the  evangelical  cantons,  Berne,  Bale  and 
Zurich.  Having  an  understanding  with  them,  he  brought 
a  strong  force  through  their  territories,  to  the  great  dis- 
pleasure of  the  catholic  cantons,  and  from  Grisons  marched 
over  the  Alps  into  Valtelina  (1635).  The  whole  of  the 
Grison  country  resounded  with  arms.  Six  thousand  val- 
iant men  marched  with  the  French  to  the  conquest  of  the 
subject  territory.  Colonels  George  Jenatsch,  Florin  and 
Peter  Guler  raised  three  fresh  troops  in  the  pay  of  France. 

Then  bloody  and  terrible  battles  were  fought  with  the 
Austrians  and  Spaniards  in  the  valleys  of  Chiavenna,  in 
savage  Freelthal,  near  Morbegno  in  Yaltelma,  and  near 
Mazzo  in  Bormio.  Everywhere  Rohan  and  the  bold 
warrior  Jenatsch  were  in  advance,  everywhere  victorious. 

After  the  conquest  was  completed,  the  Grisons  hoped, 
from  one  day  to  another,  to  reenter  into  possession  of  the 
territory  formerly  subject  to  them.  But  the  king  of 
France  still  made  difficulties,  and  wished  every  thing  to 
remain  as  arranged  at  the  peace  of  Monzona.  The  Grisons 
were  very  indignant  at  this.  But  France  was  too  power- 
ful for  them,  and  they  were  compelled  to  be  silent.  Many 


-1640.]  ENVOY  LANIER.  178 

and  fruitless  negotiations  took  place;  the  people  were 
harassed  by  the  cantonment  of  French  soldiers,  but  could 
do  nothing.  Almost  all  that  Rohan  had  promised  re- 
mained unfulfilled,  but  not  by  his  fault.  He  was  power- 
less against  the  orders  of  his  king,  who  had  sent  Lanier, 
as  his  envoy,  to  Coire.  Now  Lanier  was  a  haughty,  iras- 
cible man.  When  most  of  the  Grison  troops  in  the  pay 
of  France  threatened  to  quit  the  king's  service  because 
they  were  not  punctually  paid,  Lanier  cried  out  angrily : 
"  I  will  plant  my  spear  in  Coire,  and  set  my  foot  on  the 
necks  of  the  mutinous  leaders!" 

Then  the  Grisons  came  together  and  said:  "Austria  has 
oppressed  us ;  France  has  deceived  us.  Let  us  trust  no 
foreign  power." 

And,  on  the  6th  of  February,  1637,  thirty-one  of  the 
principal  men  of  the  whole  republic  met  at  the  house  of 
burgomaster  George  Meier  in  Coire,  and  swore  to  risk  life 
and  property  in  order  to  free  their  fatherland  from  the 
foreign  yoke.  Then  they  went  into  all  the  valleys  and 
made  the  necessary  preparations  with  the  greatest  una- 
nimity. 

Colonel  Jenatsch  was  to  negotiate  with  Austria  at 
Innspruch,  for  the  reestablishment  of  the  ancient  friendly 
relations,  but  at  the  same  time  to  keep  the  duke  of  Rohan 
quiet  and  unsuspicious  by  manifestations  of  great  friend- 
snip.  The  Grisons  armed.  There  were  then  but  few 
French  troops  in  the  land.  The  Zuricher  colonel,  Caspar 
Schmied,  was  still,  however,  stationed  near  Luziensteig. 
But  the  Grisons  had  already  sent  to  Zurich,  so  that  he  re- 
ceived orders,  at  least  not  to  oppose  them. 

The  duke  of  Rohan  noticed  the  agitation  and  secret 
arming.  He  strengthened  his  garrison  in  the  Rhine-fort- 
ress on  the  Landquart  (near  Pfeffers).  Then  came  Jen- 
atsch and  successfully  combatted  his  suspicions.  Suddenly 
the  whole  people  rose  in  the  mountains.  Jenatsch  with 
six  battalions  of  his  countrymen  surrounded  the  French 
in  the  Rhine-fortress.  By  agreement  with  Grisons,  a 
German  force  appeared  in  a  threatening  attitude  near  Lin- 
dau ;  a  Spanish  on  the  lake  of  Como.  Rohan,  surprised 
on  all  sides,  was  obliged  to  consent  to  withdraw  his  troops 

p* 


174  MARSHAL   LECQUES.  [1630- 

at  once  from  Grisons  and  Valtelina.  He  also  answered 
for  marshal  Lecques  and  all  the  French,  who  were  five 
thousand  strong.  So  they  went  over  the  Rhine,  out  of 
the  Grison  territory.  Duke  -Rohan  took  a  friendly  leave 
of  the  chiefs  of  the  republic  (May,  1637),  as  did  marshal 
Lecques.  When  the  latter,  however,  on  his  departure, 
saw  colonel  Jenatsch,  growing  pale  with  anger,  he  aimed 
a  pistol  at  him  and  cried:  "Thus  I  take  my  leave  of  a 
traitor !"  But  the  pistol  missed  fire. 

Jenatsch  did  not  lose  his  life  till  two  years  afterwards, 
when  he  was  enjoying  himself  with  other  colonels  and 
officers  at  an  entertainment  in  Coire.  About  midnight 
(January  14,  1639)  Rudolf  Planta,  Pompey's  son,  with 
other  conspirators,  entered  the  ball-room.  A  bullet  passed 
through  the  colonel's  cheek ;  he  defended  himself  with  a 
candlestick.  Six  blows  of  a  hatchet  deprived  him  of  life. 
His  body  was  interred  in  the  cathedral  with  military 
honors.  This  was  the  end  of  a  man  who  loved  and  saved 
his  country,  but  was  not  ashamed  to  employ  therefor  the 
most  dishonorable  means.  Rudolf  Planta,  his  murderer, 
died  a  violent  death  a  year  afterwards,  during  a  popular 
tumult  in  Engadine. 

After  the  Grisons  were  by  these  means  freed  from  for- 
eign power  and  again  masters  of  their  subject  territory, 
they  sent  envoys  to  the  kings  of  Spain  and  France  to  re- 
quest that  they  might  hold  their  conquests  in  peace.  At 
Milan  (September  3,  1639)  a  perpetual  peace  was  nego- 
tiated and  concluded  between  the  Spaniards  and  Grisons, 
and  the  Grison  sovereignty  in  Bormio,  Valtelina  and 
Chiavenna  was  completely  acknowledged,  but  on  condi- 
tion that  the  catholic  church  should  remain  alone  domi- 
nant in  these  bailiwicks.  Such  was  also  the  wish  of  the 
catholic  communes  in  Grisons. 

Friendly  relations  were  reestablished  with  the  ducal 
house  of  Austria  by  the  renewal  of  the  ancient  treaties 
(at  Feldkirch,  August  9,  1641).  Austria  was  overbur- 
dened with  war  in  Germany,  and  was  glad  to  retain  her 
former  rights  in  Engadine  and  the  Ten-jurisdictions.  But, 
before  ten  years  had  elapsed,  the  communes  of  this  League 
purchased  all  the  rights  of  the  duke  over  them  at  a  great 


1640.]  DISCORD  BETWEEN  THE   CANTONS.  175 

price.  So  did  the  communes  of  Lower  Engadine.  Thus, 
from  this  time,  Austria  retained  nothing  but  a  few  sig- 
nioral  rights  at  Rhezuns  and  Tarasp. 

By  these  means  the  league  of  the  Ten-jurisdictions  be- 
came free  and  independent,  like  the  two  others  in  the 
Rhetian  highlands.  Davos  remained,  as  formerly,  the 
chief  place  of  the  League,  although  the  other  high-jurisdic- 
tions, incited  by  colonel  Peter  Guler  and  other  leaders, 
made  so  violent  an  opposition  to  this  that  Zurich,  Berne, 
and  Grlarus  had  to  interfere  to  prevent  misfortune.  By 
the  decision  of  the  recorder  of  Zurich,  John  Henry  Was- 
ser  (January  11,  1644),  Davos  retained  most  of  her  ancient 
honors:  the  assembling  of  the  diet,  the  guardianship  of 
the  banner  and  archives  of  the  League,  and  the  right  to 
name  the  banneret,  subject  to  the  League's  approval. 


CHAPTER    XLI. 

OF  THE  TROUBLES  AMONG  THE  CONFEDERATES  DURING  THE  THIRTY 
YEARS'  RELIGIOUS  WAR  IN  GERMANY,  AND  HOW  SWITZERLAND'S 
INDEPENDENCE  OF  THE  GERMAN  EMPIRE  WAS  ESTABLISHED. 

[A.  D.  1618  to  1648.] 

THE  negotiations  and  warlike  movements  about  the 
Grison  territory  had  occasioned  much  anxiety  in  the  cities 
and  communes  of  Switzerland,  much  talk  in  diets  and 
councils,  much  expense  for  embassies  and  armaments,  but 
no  Confederate  achievement  by  which  the  freedom  and 
independence  of  the  Rhetian  highlands  or  the  ancient 
glory  of  Switzerland  were  upheld.  This  resulted  from  the 
fact  that  the  Confederate  cantons  lived  in  no  less  discord 
among  themselves  than  did  the  Grisons.  When  the  re- 
formed cantons  wished  to  aid,  the  catholics  opposed. 
When  the  catholics  wished  to  do  anything,  the  reformed 
withstood  them.  THse  held  with  Spain  and  Austria, 
these  with  France  and  Venice.  One  party  received  money 
from  the  former,  the  other  from  the  latter,  and  each  made 


170  THE  ECCLESIASTICAL   LORDS.  [1618- 

treaties  and  furnished  troops  to  the  foreign  power  which  it 
favored.  This  made  a  few  lords  in  the  land  rich,  many 
families  poor  and  destitute, 

In  the  common  bailiwicks,  where  the  catholic  and  re- 
formed cantons  shared  the  government,  they  quarrelled  as 
before.  Although,  according  to  agreement,  both  religious 
parties  had  equal  rights  in  the  bailiwicks,  the  catholic  were 
harassed  by  the  reformed  bailiffs,  the  reformed  by  the 
catholic.  In  Thurgau  and  Rheinthal,  the  sovereign  can- 
tons disputed :  as  to  whether  the  majority  of  votes  should 
decide  in  religious  as  well  as  in  civil  matters.  The  eccle- 
siastical lords,  as  usual,  took  part  in  the  quarrel  to  embit- 
ter it.  The  bishop  of  Bale,  sustained  by  the  emperor,  so 
long  as  the  latter  was  victorious  in  the  German  war,  re- 
quired Muhlhausen  and  Bale  to  restore  to  his  see  the  prop- 
erty which  it  had  lost  long  before.  The  abbot  of  St.  Gal- 
len  claimed  in  Thurgau  and  Rheinthal  more  rights  than 
justly  belonged  to  him  ;  the  abbot  of  EJinsiedeln  attempted 
to  make  the  foresters  of  Schwyz  tributary  to  him ;  the  ab- 
bot of  Fischingen  wished  to  build  a  catholic  altar  in  the 
reformed  church  at  Lastorf.  These  ecclesiastical  lords 
always  found  supporters  as  well  as  opponents.  And,  more 
than  once,  Swiss  stood  ready  to  draw  the  fratricidal  sword 
against  Swiss,  in  civil  war.  The  fear  of  foreign  powers 
alone  restrained  them. 

At  this  period  a  long  and  terrible  war  desolated  Ger- 
many, It  began,  between  catholics  and  protestantS)  in 
Bohemia  (1618),  then  spread  over  Germany,  and,  finally, 
drew  Sweden  and  Italy,  Spain,  Hungary  and  France,  into 
one  common  misfortune.  It  was  begun  for  religious  mat- 
ters, it  was  continued  for  the  acquisition  of  crowns  and 
lands.  Therefore,  sometimes  the  Venetians  and  French, 
sometimes  the  Spaniards  and  Austrians,  earnestly  endeav- 
ored to  secure  the  assistance  of  the  Confederates,  or  a  pas- 
sage across  the  Grison  mountains. 

The  armies  of  the  contending  powers,  as  they  followed 
each  other  on  German  soil  from  battle-field  to  battle-field, 
often  approached  close  to  the  frontiers  of  the  Confederates. 
But  the  latter,  conscious  of  their  division  and  weakness, 
wished  not  to  see  the  foreign  sword  in  their  valleys,  add- 


-1648-]  GENERAL   HORN.  177 

ing  to  the  calamities  they  already  endured.  Therefore 
they  prudently  maintained  their  neutrality  in  all  foreign 
warfare  and  the  inviolability  of  the  Swiss  soil.  But  so 
great  was  the  continued  discord  among  themselves  that 
they  often  hindered  the  legitimate  defence  of  their  terri- 
tory and  of  their  allies. 

Thus,  for  instance,  when  Muhlhausen  was  in  danger 
from  the  passage  of  Swedish  and  imperial  troops,  Zurich, 
and  Berne  sent  soldiers  to  protect  her  (1632).  But  when 
the  Bernese  wished  to  cross  by  the  defile  of  Solothurn,  the 
guard  barred  the  passage  and  sounded  the  tocsin.  The 
bailiffs,  Philip  Roll  of  Bechburg  and  Ursus  Brunner  of 
Falkeristein,  with  captain  Suri,  surrounded  the  Bernese 
soldiers,  shot,  sabred  and  killed  several,  and  disarmed  all. 
Solothurn  was  obliged  to  suffer  severely  for  this  outrage : 
some  of  the  perpetrators  were  punished  by  death,  some  by 
banishment;  but  hatred  and  distrust  were  not  appeased. 

On  another  occasion,  when  the  Swedish  general  Horn 
(1633),  to  surprise  the  Austrian  city  of  Constance,  had 
passed  with  his  force  through  the  Zuricher  city  of  Stein  in 
Hegau,  the  catholic  Confederates  accused  the  reformed 
with  favoring  the  Swedes  to  the  prejudice  of  the  emperor. 
Uri,  Schwyz,  Unterwalden  and  Zug,  claiming  an  equal 
right  on  the  emperor's  side,  sent  three  thousand  men  to- 
wards the  lake  of  Constance.  But  Zurich  armed  at  once 
and  threatened  to  join  the  Swedes,  if  the  catholic  Confede- 
rates made  common  cause  with  the  Austrians  against 
them.  Peace  was  preserved,  but  not  without  difficult  arbi- 
tration. 

As  the  Swedes  had  done  at  Stein,  so,  shortly  afterwards, 
near  Schaff  hausen,  did  the  imperialists  violate  the  soil  of 
Switzerland.  Too  late,  feebly  and  without  union,  the  peo- 
ple of  Schaff  hausen  seized  their  arms,  and  some  troops  of 
Zurichers  came  into  Thurgau  to  support  them.  The  vil- 
lages of  Bargen,  Altdorf,  Beggingen,  Barzheim  and  Schleit- 
heim  were  partly  pillaged,  partly  burnt  by  the  soldiery. 
The  vigorous  peasants  fought  bravely  against  the  foreign 
plunderers  and  killed  many,  while  the  frightened  govern- 
ment of  Schaff  hausen  exchanged  polite  notes  with  the  im 
perial  general. 
8* 


178  SUBSERVIENCY   TO   FOREIGNERS.  [161&- 

Austrian  soldiers  and  camp-followers  more  than  once 
pillaged  the  territory  of  the  city  of  Bale,  and  laughed  at 
the  weak  half-measures  of  the  Confederates.  As  these 
could  not  cause  their  own  territory  to  be  respected,  still 
less  could  they  defend  the  territory  of  their  allies  from  en- 
croachment. They  entirely  abandoned  Rothweil,  an  im- 
perial city  in  Suabia,  their  ally,  because  she  had  received 
an  Austrian  garrison  against  the  Swedes.  And  when  the 
guaranteed  neutrality  of  the  free  county  of  Upper  Bur- 
gundy, as  well  as  her  hereditary  union  with  Austria,  was 
disregarded,  sometimes  by  the  French,  sometimes  by  the 
Swedes,  the  Confederates  opposed  the  enemy's  arms,  not 
with  the  sword,  but  with  suppliant  envoys  and  letters ;  it 
was  the  same  when  duke  Bernard  of  Weimar  encamped 
with  the  Swedes  in  the  bishopric  of  Bale  (1638).  He  re- 
mained as  long  as  he  pleased,  in  spite  of  all  remonstrances, 
and  impoverished  the  already  poor  people. 

It  was  indeed  often  said  in  the  Diets  that  an  army  ought 
to  be  stationed  on  the  frontiers  to  maintain  the  sacred 
rights  of  the  Swiss  soil,  and  to  defend  the  honor  of  the 
fatherland,  not  with  paper,  but  with  arms.  But  central 
Switzerland  said :  "  The  frontier  cantons  may  protect 
themselves."  And  others  said :  "  The  expenses  of  an 
army  are  too  great."  Each  expected  sacrifices  from  his 
Confederates,  but  no  one  was  willing  to  make  sacrifices 
himself.  The  old,  magnanimous,  Swiss,  manly  heart  beat 
no  longer.  The  envoys  of  foreign  powers  also  interfered, 
as  usual,  either  to  command  as  masters,  or  to  make  parties. 
Even  in  the  most  just  or  the  most  trivial  matters,  the  Con- 
federates had  not  always  courage  enough  to  resist  the  over- 
bearing spirit  of  the  foreign  embassadors.  In  1642,  when 
the  French  embassador  was  passing  through  Mellingen,  a 
little  city  on  the  Reuss,  and  the  people  of  his  train  bad  u 
quarrel  with  the  burghers  about  the  bridge-toll,  so  that 
the  burghers  seized  their  arms  and  closed  the  gates,  the 
anger  of  the  embassador  was  not  appeased  by  the  Diet's 
ordering  the  avoyer,  recorder  and  toll-gatherer  to  go  to 
Solothurn,  ask  his  pardon  on  their  knees  and  return  the 
twelve  batzen  that  had  been  paid ;  and  the  cowardly 
Diet  went  so  far,  at  his  demand,  as  to  keep  these  men  in 
prison  at  Baden,  until  he  was  satisfied. 


-1648.]  THE   HEIMATHLOSEN.  179 

In  consequence  of  so  many  negotiations,  quarrels  and 
armaments,  several  of  the  governments  wanted  money,  and 
imposed  taxes  and  contributions.  But  when  the  council 
of  Berne  (1641)  decreed  a  tax  of  one  in  the  thousand  on 
property,  without  stating  how  long  it  should  last,  the  coun- 
try-people were  afraid  it  would  be  permanent.  They 
complained  loudly  in  Aargau  and  Emmenthal,  and  noth- 
ing could  remove  their  mistrust.  Thereat  the  council 
adopted  severe  measures,  and  caused  some  of  the  principal 
persons  who  opposed  the  tax  to  be  seized.  This  occasioned 
such  a  rising  of  the  people  in  Etnmenthal,  that  the  city  of 
Berne  was  garrisoned,  and  troops  sent  to  Thun,  Burgdorf 
and  Lenzburg.  The  malcontents  held  open  council  at 
Langnau.  The  disturbance  was  allayed  by  moderation, 
with  the  aid  of  deputies  from  the  Confederate  diet.  The 
tax  was  paid.  Berne  promised  a  removal  of  each  and  all 
the  abuses  of  which  the  people  had  complained. 

Shortly  afterwards  (1645)  disturbances  also  took  place  in 
the  canton  of  Zurich  respecting  an  extraordinary  real-estnt^ 
tax.  Happily,  by  gentleness  and  prudence,  the  council  of 
Zurich  so  calmed  the  insurgents,  that  they  voluntarily 
begged  pardon  for  their  disobedience.  Only  in  Knonau 
and  Wadenschwyl  did  they  remain  obstinate,  threaten  an 
armed  opposition,  and  fail  in  respect  to  their  magistrates 
and  officers.  At  once,  these  communes  were  occupied  by 
troops  and  disarmed.  Men,  women  and  children  were 
compelled  to  ask  for  mercy  on  their  knees  within  a  circle 
of  soldiers.  Seven  ringleaders  and  authors  of  the  revolt 
were  executed  with  the  sword.  Wadenschwyl  paid  a  fine 
of  26,163  guilders,  Knonau  12,170.  This  was  the  result 
of  the  rebellion. 

Many  foreign  vagabonds  were  at  that  time  scattered 
through  Switzerland.  They  came  from  Italy  and  Ger- 
many, desolated  by  the  war.*  Deserters  and  marauders 
excited  the  people  against  the  magistracy,  either  to  curry 
favor  with  the  peasants,  or  to  profit  by  disturbances. 

*  Such  is  the  origin  of  the  heimathlosen  (homeless  people,  having  no 
fixed  abode  and  no  claim  upon  any  commune  or  canton),  the  presence  and 
maintenance  of  whom  have  ever  been  a  source  of  great  trouble  to  Switz- 
erland, always  an  asylum  for  refugees  from  other  nations. 


180  JOHN  RUDOLF  WETTSTEOT.  [1648- 

Idlers  and  strollers  were  so  numerous,  that  in  a  single  day 
(1639)  one  hundred  were  counted  at  Schwyz,  and  sixty- 
three  hundred  and  seventy  in  the  county  of  Baden.  The 
country  was  unsafe  on  account  of  them,  until  very  severe 
measures  were  adopted.  At  Bremgarten,  two  hundred 
and  thirty -six  malefactors  suffered  deat.h  in  one  single 
year.  This  so  terrified  the  vagabonds  that  they  all  fled. 

The  peace  which  the  great  powers  of  Europe  finally 
concluded,  after  the  thirty  years'  war,  was  more  servicea- 
ble to  Switzerland  than  the  sword  of  justice.  While  ne- 
§3tiations  were  going  on  in  Westphalia,  at  Munster  and 
snabruch,  the  Confederates  also  sent  their  embassador, 
John  Rudolf  Wettstein,  burgomaster  of  Bale.  He  man- 
aged the  affairs  of  the  Confederates  like  a  firm  and  skilful 
man.  And,  as  the  Germans  had  always  held  the  Swiss  to 
be  subjects  of  the  German  empire,  and  the  imperial  tribunal 
had  pronounced  sentences  against  Confederates  instead  of 
citing  them  before  their  own  courts,  burgomaster  Wett- 
stein declared  the  steadfast  resolve  of  the  whole  Confeder- 
acy to  maintain  their  complete  independence  of  the  empire. 
There  the  independence  and  self-sovereignty  of  the 
Swiss  Confederacy  was  solemnly  recognized  and  acknowl- 
edged by  the  emperor,  kings  and  princes  unitedly,  in  the 
Westphalian  treaty  of  peace. 


CHAPTER    XLII. 

HOW  THE  PEASANTS  IK  THE  CANTONS  OF  LUCERNE,  BERNE,  SOLO- 
THURN  AND  BALE  UNDERTAKE  TO  REVOLT,  AND  LOSE  THEREBY. 

[A.  D.  1648  to  1655.] 

THE  magistrates  in  city  and  country  were  well  pleased 
when  the  emperor  no  longer  addressed  them  as  "Beloved 
and  faithful  to  ourselves  and  the  empire,"  but  styled  them: 
"Strong,  steadfast,  honored  and  especially  dear."  And 
the  Swiss  might  indeed  have  been  called  a  happy  people, 
had  they  been  united  among  themselves.  But  the  reli- 


-1665.]  ARBITRARY  RULE. 

gious  discord  between  catholics  and  reformed  did  not  cease, 
and  to  this  old  trouble  was  added  a  new  one. 

In  most  of  the  cantons,  great  dissatisfaction  prevailed 
among  the  country-people,  who,  in  many  valleys,  were 
still  serfs,  or,  at  least,  bore  all  the  old  burdens  of  servitude. 
Seeing  that  the  people  in  Schwyz,  Uri  and  Unterwalden 
were  free,  that  they  had  no  magistrates  or  laws  but  such 
as  they  themselves  voted  for,  and  paid  no  taxes  or  contri- 
butions but  such  as  they  themselves  decreed,  the  peasants 
in  other  cantons  lamented  that  they  remained  serfs  and 
subject  to  the  city-burghers,  without  hope  of  ransom  ;  that 
they  were  compelled  to  pay  taxes  and  contributions  re- 
specting which  they  had  not  been  consulted  ;  that  obliga- 
tions and  laws  were  imposed  upon  them  without  reference 
to  their  wishes.  But  it  was  still  more  grievous  that  they 
were  forced  to  yield  servile  obedience  to  avaricious  gov 
ernors  and  haughty  bailiffs ;  that  they  were  beaten,  mal- 
treated and  imprisoned  for  the  most  trivial  fault,  or  reduced 
to  poverty  by  law-suits  and  arbitrary  fines.  Complaints 
against  governors  and  nobles  did  little  good,  and  often  ag- 
gravated their  sufferings ;  for  relatives  of  the  bailiffs  usually 
formed  part  of  the  government.  Even  the  recorders,  un- 
der-bailiffs  and  constables,  as  they  were  all  from  the  cities, 
thought  they  could,  with  impunity,  harass  any  peasant 
who  opposed  their  will.  However,  as  the  evil  was  not 
equally  great  everywhere,  and  there  were  many  good  and 
upright  officers  over  the  country,  all  remained  quiet  for  a 
long  while. 

But  when  (August,  1652)  the  government  of  Berne,  for 
the  better  regulation  of- their  coinage,  refused  to  receive 
the  small  change  of  other  cantons,  and  reduced  the  value 
of  their  own  batzen*  by  one  half,  general  discontent  was 
manifested.  For  he  who  thought  he  had  ten  batzen,  found 
that  he  had  but  five ;  and  the  poor  man  suffered  most,  the 
rich  man  least.  Thereat  the  people  assembled  in  the  vil- 
lages, and,  to  the  common  grievance,  each  added  his  own 
special  complaint :  one  against  the  bailiff,  another  against 
the  constable;  one  against  the  government-trade  in  salt, 

*  In  1852,  when  the  old  Swiss  money  was  c.aUed  in,  and  a  coinage 
identical  with  the  French  adopted,  th«  batz  was  worth  about  three  sous. 


182  REDUCTION  OP  THE   CURRENCY.  [1648- 

another  against  the-  same  in  gunpowder ;  one  against  the 
trades-corporations  and  the  imposts,  another  against  the 
labor-dues  and  the  disregard  of  ancient  rights.  The  more 
the  people  talked,  the  more  excited  they  became. 

Now  it  happened  that  the  government  of  Lucerne,  also, 
after  the  example  of  Berne,  reduced  the  value  of  their 
batzen.  Then  the  communes  of  Entlibuch  sent  deputies 
to  the  government  and  requested,  either  that  the  money 
should  be  taken  for  dues  at  its  old  value,  or  the  products 
of  the  soil  received  in  payment  in  lieu  of  money.  But 
they  were  so  harshly  answered  that  they  went  back  very 
sad.  Thereat  the  country-people  were  angered,  and  when 
the  collectors  came  among  them,  maltreated  them  and 
drove  them  away.  On  this,  the  avoyer  Dulliker,  with 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  lords,  went  to  Entlibuch  (February, 
1653)  to  bring  the  elders  of  the  communes  to  reason.  But 
the  people  came  out  from  all  the  villages  with  spears  and 
clubs:  in  front  a  white  flag;  then  three  young  men  who 
blew  Alpine  horns;  then  the  leaders,  and  behind  three 
others  in  the  ancient  Swiss  costume,  representing  the 
men  of  Eutli ;  a  great  crowd,  fourteen  hundred  strong,  fol- 
lowed them.  Thus  they  marched  into  the  village  where 
the  envoys  of  the  city  were  assembled.  Then  arose  a 
great  tumult,  and  cries  against  the  depreciation  of  the  coin, 
against  the  toll  near  Wollhausen,  against  the  high  interest 
on  money,  against  the  bailiffs'  fines,  against  the  arbitrary 
imposts  on  sales,  and  such  things;  and  the  people  gave 
utterance  to  such  threats  and  insults,  that  the  envoys  could 
do  nothing  with  the  excited  multitude,  but  returned  home 
to  the  city.  The  country-people  held  meetings ;  stationed 
guards;  examined  travellers;  exhorted  the  neighboring 
subjects  of  Berne  to  make  common  cause  with  them ;  and 
the  ten  bailiwicks  of  the  district  made  and  swore  to  a 
league  among  themselves,  at  Wollhausen. 

As  the  matter  was  becoming  serious,  the  six  catholic 
cantons  sent  deputies  to  mediate  amicably.  But  when 
these  deputies  met  at  Willisau  with  the  delegates  of  the 
ten  bailiwicks,  who  had  put  in  writing  twenty-seven  causes 
of  complaint,  the  assembled  peasants  renewed  their  tumult 
and  even  seized  the  deputies,  set  a  guard  over  them,  ocgu- 


-1655.]  LEAGUE   OF   WOLLHAUSEN.  183 

pied  the  main  passes  to  the  city  and  threatened  to  attack 
Lucerne.  Immediately,  four  hundred  men  marched  from 
the  small  cantons  to  garrison  and  defend  the  city.  Zurich 
and  Berne  armed.  When  the  country-people  in  the  ten 
bailiwicks  heard  this,  their  courage  failed  them;  they  re- 
leased the  imprisoned  deputies  and  besought  them  to  me- 
diate. The  deputies  did  so  justly,  and  pronounced  this 
sentence  (19th  March):  "The  government  shall  retain  its 
sovereignty  and  the  people  their  rights;  the  imposts  on 
sales  shall  be  equalized  throughout  the  whole  land ;  the 
avoyer  of  Willisau  shall  be  chosen- from  among  its  burgh- 
ers alone ;  there  shall  be  no  appeal  from  Entlibuch  to  Lu- 
cerne in  matters  under  one  hundred  guilders ;  the  league 
of  the  ten  bailiwicks  at  Wollhausen  is  annulled ;  no  such 
league  can  hereafter  be  allowed  under  severe  penalties,  but 
no  damages  shall  be  required  from  the  country  for  the  ex- 
penses of  the  present  difficulty." 

When  all  was  thought  to  be  settled,  the  storm  broke 
forth  anew  in  the  canton  of  Berne,  from  Thun  as  far  as 
the  city  t>f  Brugg.  For  when  the  government  here  had 
wished  to  send  troops  against  the  peasants  in  the  canton 
of  Lucerne,  the  people  said :  "  No !  we  will  not  march 
against  our  brothers ;  we  have  as  good  cause  of  complaint 
as  they."  In  all  the  villages,  tumults,  uproar  and  disorder 
prevailed.  No  one  wished  to  obey,  every  one  to  command. 
The  cities  of  Thun,  Aarburg,  Zofingen,  Aarau,  Brugg  and 
Lenzburg  alone  remained  quiet ;  the  clergy  in  the  coun- 
try were  also  faithful  to  the  government. 

Berne  at  once  called  for  Confederate  assistance  to  put 
down  the  revolt.  Schaffhausen,  Bale  and  Muhlhausen 
immediately  sent  troops.  But  Zurich  and  Lucerne  advised 
an  amicable  settlement.  The  government  of  Berne  was  at 
last  inclined  to  this.  However,  before  the  parties  could 
corne  to  an  understanding,  the  troops  of  Schalf  hausen  had 
already  entered  the  country  in  the  neighborhood  of  Brugg, 
those  of  Bale  and  Muhlhausen  near  Aarau.  This  enraged 
the  people  in  Aargau  and  they  rose  in  a  body  (18th  March, 
1653)  throughout  the  whole  county  of  Lenzburg.  Thereat 
the  Schaffhausen.  tro6ps  retreated,  and  those  of  Bale  and 
Muhlhausen  retired  from  Aarau  to  the  left  bank  of  the 


184  APPARENT  SETTLEMENT.  [1648- 

Aar  into  the  bailiwicks  of  Biberstein  and  Schenkenburg. 
But  here  the  people  rose  also  as  far  as  into  the  territory  of 
Solothurn,  so  that  the  men  of  Bale  and  Muhlhausen  were 
compelled  to  return  home.  At  Erlisbach,  the  country- 
pt-opie  of  Solothuru  aud  Aargau  stood  in  arms;  between 
their  ranks,  as  through  a  street,  the  troops  of  Bale  and 
Muhlhausen  marched  back  to  their  own  country. 

Thou  the  tumult  increased.  The  peasants  held  ^general 
assemblies  at  Langenthal,  besieged  the  castles  of  the  bai  lifts, 
sent  deputies  to  the  government  at  Berne  and  even  applied 
secretly  to  the  French  embassador,  La  Barde,  for  foreign 
assistance.  This  was  a  great  mistake.  For  the  French 
embassador  betrayed  them,  and  many  well-intentioned  per- 
sons abandoned  their  cause,  because  they  had  asked  for 
foreign  interference  in  the  affairs  of  their  fatherland. 

In  the  mean  while,  deputies  from  six  reformed  cantons 
appeared  at  Berne,  to  terminate  peacefully  the  quarrel  be- 
tween magistrates  and  subjects.  The  delegates  of  the 
communes  came  also,  and  it  was  agreed :  "  That  the  salt- 
trade  belongs  to  the  government ;  to  the  subjects,  the  right 
to  purchase  salt  for  their  own  consumption  freely,  wherever 
they  please ;  the  duty  on  sales  and  the  obligation  to  enter 
a  trades-corporation  cease;  the  batzen  remain  at  the  value 
last  determined,  but  the  capital  and  interest  of  debts  shall 
be  reckoned  no  higher  than  in  1613  ;  money  lent  on  suf- 
ficient security  and  at  fair  interest  shall  not  be  reclaimed 
under  six  years;  the  fees  of  the  constables  shall  be  di- 
minished." When  these  and  other  matters  were  thus 
equitably  agreed  upon,  the  delegates  of  the  communes 
knelt  before  the  council  of  the  city  of  Berne  to  ask  for  par- 
don, and  everything  seemed  well  settled. 

But  the  country -people  in  the  canton  of  Lucerne  again 
made  a  disturbance  on  their  side,  complained  of  the  sen- 
tence which  had  been  rendered  and  said :  "  We  cannot 
see  any  such  wrong  in  our  league  at  Wollhausen,  as  the 
sentence  declares."  And  they  sent  messengers  to  the  sub- 
jects of  other  cantons  saying:  "We  wish  to  be  no  longer 
slaves  of  the  cities,  but  free  people,  as  are  those  in  the 
small  cantons."  The  people  in  Aargau  and  in  Emmenthal 
joined  their  voices  to  theirs.  They  blamed  the  delegates 


-less.]  THE  PEOPLE'S-LEAQUE.  .   185 

who  had  knelt  before  the  seated  council  at  Berne  and  ac- 
cepted the  agreement.  Even  in  the  cantons  of  Solothurn 
and  Bale,  many  of  the  country-people  were  excited  and 
joined  those  of  Lucerne,  Ernmenthal  and  Aargau.  They 
held  a  general  assembly  at  Sumiswald  (13th  April,  1653) 
and  chose  Nicholas  Leuenberger,  a  countryman  of  Schoen- 
holz,  to  be  their  leader  and  chief  of  the  leaguers  of  the  four 
cantons  of  Lucerne,  Berne,  Solothurn  and  Bale.  They 
decreed:  "The  people  shall  respect  the  rights  of  the 
magistrates,  and  the  magistrates  the  rights  of  the  people ; 
no  subject  shall  take  arms  against  the  governments,  but  if 
the  latter  send  troops,  they  shall  be  repelled  by  force." 
They  invited  the  subjects  of  all  the  Confederates,  in  writ- 
ing, to  meet  at  Hutwyl  on  a  certain  day,  for  the  discussion 
of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  all,  and  the  formation  of  a 
people' s-league  in  opposition  to  the  master' s-league,  that  all 
Swiss  might  be  free  Swiss.  This  displeased  the  masters  in 
the  cities.  An  important  and  decisive  moment  was  at  hand. 

As,  formerly,  the  counts  and  signiors  had  freed  them- 
selves from  the  emperors  and  acquired  an  hereditary  do- 
minion over  their  districts ;  as,  afterwards,  the  larger  cities 
of  Switzerland,  favored  by  fortune  and  circumstances,  had 
enfranchised  themselves  from  the  dominion  of  the  counts 
and  signiors  by  purchase  or  by  force  of  arms ;  so,  now, 
the  subject  country -people  wished  to  reduce  the  power  of 
the  cities  and  to  become  free.  But  their  enterprise  was 
not  well  calculated. 

In  fact,  these  tumultuous  hordes  did  not  bring  to  their 
work  either  the  pious  loyalty  or  firm  union  anciently  mani- 
fested by  the  men  of  the  Waldstatten,  or  the  prudence  and 
considerate  strength  exercised  by  the  cities.  They  were 
rude,  ignorant  people,  without  experience  in  civil  concerns, 
badly  taught,  distrusting  one  another,  each  thinking  more 
of  his  own  advantage  than  of  the  common  good.  They 
listened  more  willingly  to  the  cries  of  violent  men  than  to 
the  counsels  of  the  wise ;  all  wished  to  command,  none  to 
obey.  Therefore  they  were  at  variance  among  themselves, 
and  ready  for  all  excesses.  They  maltreated  all  who  were 
not  of  their  opinion.  Some  they  threatened  with  fire  and 
sword;  some  they  mutilated. 

Q* 


186  NICHOLAS  LEUENBEKGEK.  [1648- 

In  the  mean  while,  the  cities  armed  to  put  down  the 
rebels,  but  opened  negotiations  in  order  to  gain  time. 
Berne,  as  well  as  the  Diet  at  Baden,  was  more  frank  with 
the  people.  Many  conferences  were  appointed  or  held 
with  the  delegates  of  the  insurgents ;  but  with  such  disor- 
derly bands,  each  of  whom  contradicted  the  other  and 
changed  its  mind  every  day,  no  business  could  be  brought 
to  a  conclusion. 

After  all  attempts  at  conciliation  had  proved  vain,  the 
Yorort,  Zurich,  ordered  the  whole  Confederacy  to  arm 
(llth  May,  1653).  Berne  assembled  the  troops  of  Vaud, 
which,  in  consequence  of  the  difference  of  language,  had 
remained  foreign  to  the  affairs  of  her  German  subjects,  and 
named  Sigismund  of  Erlauh  as  her  general.  He  had  about 
ten  thousand  men.  About  five  thousand  came  from  the 
catholic  cantons,  led  by  colonel  Zweier ;  the  other  Confed- 
erates, eight  thousand  in  all,  were  commanded  by  general 
Wertmuller  of  Zurich.  The  free  country-people  of  the 
small  cantons  hdd  true  to  the  cities,  and  adopted  their 
cause  against  the  insurgents,  partly  from  love  of  justice 
and  neighborly  friendship,  and  partly  because  they  them- 
selves had  subjects,  whose  rebellion  or  freedom  they  did 
not  desire.  They  garrisoned  and  protected  Lucerne. 

The  insurgents  were  as  prompt  to  arm.  They  occupied 
the  defile  near  Gumminen  towards  Vaud,  those  near  Win- 
disch  and  Mellingen  towards  Zurich.  They  assaulted 
Aarburg  and  Aarau,  Zofingen  and  Lenzburg,  but  without 
success.  For  they  had  no  heavy  artillery  nor  a  sufficiency 
of  other  arms,  nor  discipline  among  themselves,  nor  expe- 
rienced leaders,  because  until  then  all  officers  had  been 
taken  from  among  the  burghers  of  the  cities. 

As  soon  as  Leuenberger,  the  chief  of  the  leagued  peasants, 
and  Schybi  and  Ulli  Galli  and  other  leaders  of  the  revolt, 
saw  that  there  was  a  serious  opposition,  they  tried  to  ensure 
the  success  of  their  perilous  undertaking  by  boldness  and 
by  new  negotiations.  Leuenberger,  who  was  encamped  a 
league  from  Berne-city  at  Ostermundigen,  where  his  sol- 
diers robbed  and  plundered  the  neighborhood,  wrote  once 
more  to  Berne  for  an  amicable  settlement  of  the  dispute. 
The  city-council,  to  avoid  effusion  of  blood  and  to  gain 


-1655.]  SIGISMUND  OF  ERLACH.  187 

time,  sent  deputies  to  the  rebels ;  conceded  many  things 
and  even  to  pay  50,000  livres  to  the  country -people,  not, 
however,  as  a  compensation  for  their  war-expenses,  but  as 
a  relief  to  their  poor.  The  delegates  of  the  peasants  finally 
subscribed  the  before  rejected  agreement,  and  promised 
submission  and  fealty.  But  hardly  had  they  reached  their 
camp,  when  all  was  again  nullified.  For,  as  the  Confede- 
rates were  advancing,  the  rebels  refused  to  disperse  until 
all  the  troops  had  returned  to  their  homes. 

In  the  mean  while,  Wertmuller  and  Zweier,  with  united 
forces,  marched  over  the  Heitersberg  as  far  as  Mellingen. 
Thence  they  sent  to  Leuenberger,  and  granted  another  con- 
ference at  his  own  request.  At  this  moment,  Leuenberger, 
who  had  written  to  the  council  'of  Berne  to  complain  of 
the  advance  of  the  Confederate  auxiliaries  while  his  own 
peasants  were  besieging  the  cities  in  Aargau,  unexpectedly 
saw  his  force  increased  to  twenty  thousand  men.  Then 
his  courage  also  increased.  He  was  no  longer  afraid,  and 
replied  that  the  sword  must  decide. 

But  the  attempts  of  the  rebels  upon  Wohlenschwyl  and 
Mellingen  as  well  as  upon  Zofingen  having  proved  unsuc- 
cessful, they  again  lost  heart,  and  once  more  sent  messen- 
gers to  the  Confederate  council  of  war,  to  obtain  favorable 
conditions.  But  now  the  council  answered:  "Peasants 
cannot  propose  conditions.  Dissolve  your  league.  Return 
to  your  homes.  Your  chiefs  must  await  the  sentence  of 
their  magistrates.  Do  this  and  we  will  leave  you  in 
peace." 

The  terrified  envoys  of  the  country-people,  of  Berne, 
Bale  and  Solothurn  immediately  swore  to  these  conditions. 
Not  so  the  Lucerners.  They  excused  themselves,  for  want 
of  authority.  There  was  no  longer  any  plan,  any  coher- 
ence or  cooperation  among  the  people.  Wertmuller  ad- 
vanced. From  Berne  and  Mangen,  on  the  other  side, 
came  general  Erlach  towards  Langenthal.  On  his  passage 
he  dispersed  a  troop  of  two  thousand  peasants.  In  the 
field  before  Herzogenbuchsee  (28th  May)  he  found  a  post 
of  six  peasants  armed  with  halberds.  They  assured  him 
that  the  rebels  had  entirely  dispersed.  But,  as  he  rode 
towards  the  town  with  his  followers,  shot  after  shot  was 


188  WERTMULLER   OF  ZURICH.  [1648- 

fired  at  him.  Quickly  discovering  the  forces  of  the  insur- 
gents, which  had  taken  possession  of  the  neighboring 
wood,  he  attacked  them  on  three  sides  at  once. 

Then  ensued  a  desperate  conflict.  The  insurgents,  over- 
powered, retreated  towards  the  town,  defending  their 
ground  foot  by  foot.  While  a  part  of  the  town  was  in 
flames,  they  fought  from  the  houses ;  then  from  behind  the 
walls  of  the  church.  At  last  they  fled  and  dispersed 
through  the  woods. 

Erlach  and  Wertmuller  joined  forces  near  Langenthal. 
All  rebellion  was  put  down  in  that  region.  Wertmuller, 
desirous  to  observe  the  peace  already  promised  to  the 
country-people  by  the  council  of  war  at  Mellingen,  blamed 
the  Bernese  leader  for  the  massacre  at  Herzogenbuchsee. 
But  when  the  latter  explained  the  circumstances  to  him, 
it  was  agreed  that  the  covenant  of  Mellingen  should  apply 
only  to  Lower  Aargau;  and  that,  in  the  districts  above 
Aarburg,  Berne  should  have  full  power  by  right  of  con- 
quest. 

Suddenly,  in  all  the  villages,  to  cries  of  rebellion  and 
bold  bravadoes,  succeeded  the  stillness  of  death  and  the 
repentance  of  terror.  The  people  were  disarmed,  the  lead- 
ers of  the  revolt  imprisoned.  The  Confederate  council  of 
war  sat  in  judgment  at  Zofingen.  Schybi  was  brought 
there  from  Entlibuch  and  beheaded  with  the  sword.  Leu- 
enberger,  betrayed  in  his  own  house  by  a  neighbor  and 
accomplice,  was  thrown  into  prison  at  Berne.  There  he 
was  executed,  and  his  bloody  head  was  nailed  to  the  gal- 
lows by  the  side  of  the  insurgents'  written  league.  In  the 
same  way  died  his  secretary  Brommer.  Ulli  Galli  was 
hxing  on  the  gallows.  At  Bale,  seven  old  men  were  con- 
demned to  death,  as  partakers  in  the  revolt ;  all  had  snow- 
white  beards.  Many  others  were  also  punished,  some  by 
death,  some  by  banishment,  more  by  fines.  The  people 
of  the  free  bailiwicks  were  compelled  to  pay  10,000  florins, 
those  of  the  county  of  Lenzburg  20,000,  the  Solothurners 
30,000 ;  others,  other  sums.  And  the  emperor,  Ferdinand 
III.,  declared  the  insurgents  who  had  fled  to  be  outlaws 
throughout  the  whole  Roman  empire. 

But  the  insurgent  country-people  in  the  canton  of  Lu- 


-1656.]  WAR-EXPENSES.  189 

cerne,  when  they  saw  their  affairs  separated  from  those  of 
the  rest  at  Mellingen,  decided  to  come  to  an  agreement 
with  their  government.  Uri,  Schwyz,  Unterwalden  and 
Zug  sent  deputies  to  Stanz  to  arbitrate  between  magis- 
trates and  subjects  (7th  June).  The  Entlibuchers  alone 
resisted  the  settlement ;  for  there  were  several  burghers  in 
Lucerne  who  privately  encouraged  them,  and  hoped  by 
their  means  to  bring  about  a  change  in  the  city  govern- 
ment. But  these  burghers  were  betrayed  and  imprisoned, 
and  the  Entlibuchers  reduced  to  obedience  by  the  superi- 
ority of  the  forces  sent  against  them. 

Such  was  the  result  of  the  insurrection.  That  which 
rises  lawlessly  must  fall  lawlessly.  For  a  long  while  the 
cantons  quarrelled  with  each  other  about  the  war-expenses : 
Berne  especially  with  Zurich,  Solothurn  with  Berne,  until 
(1654)  they  came  to  an  agreement  on  this  matter  in  the 
Confederate  Diet,  where  it  was  decided:  That,  for  the 
future,  each  canton  should,  at  its  own  expense,  assist  and 
support  the  others  in  case  of  need. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

ANOTHER    RELIGIOUS    WAR.       THE    BATTLE    NEAR    VILLMEROEN. 
COMMOTION    IN    BALE.       THE    PESTILENCE. 

[A..  D.  1656  to  1699.] 

HARDLY  was  the  quarrel  about  the  war-expenses  hap- 
pily settled,  when  another,  more  serious  than  the  first, 
arose  between  the  cantons. 

It  was  again  occasioned  by  unchristian  hate  between  re- 
formed and  catholics.  The  clergy  of  both  church-parties, 
instead  of  quenching  the  hell-fire  of  discord,  did  their  best 
to  fan  it  by  talk  and  preaching.  The  governments  already 
had  many  subjects  of  dispute,  especially  in  the  common 
bailiwicks,  where  all  had  rights  and  each  wished  to  be 
master.  No  one  trusted  the  others,  while  each  attributed 
evil  intentions  to  the  rest.  The  catholics  said:  "The 


190  THE   EVANGELICALS   OF   ARTH.  [1656- 

Bernesc  and  Zurichers  are  fortifying  their  cities  and  mak- 
ing alliances  with  Holland  and  England!  They  must 
have  some  purpose!  It  is  against  us!"  The  reformed 
said:  "The  catholics  confirm  the  Borromean  league,  renew 
their  treaties  with  Savoy  and  the  bishop  of  Bale,  and  show 
themselves  over-friendly  to  the  king  of  Spain!  This  is 
not  without  a  motive!  They  aim  at  our  religion  !" 

Then  it  happened  that,  in  1655,  six  families  of  Arth,  in 
the  canton  of  Schwyz,  were  obliged  to  flee,  because  they 
were  of  the  evangelical  faith.  Their  lives  were  not  safe  in 
Arth.  With  prayers  and  tears,  they  presented  themselves 
before  the  council  of  Zurich,  beseeching  them  to  intercede 
that  they  might  at  least  obtain  the  free  exit  of  their  house- 
hold property.  The  council  of  Zurich,  moved  with  com- 
passion, wrote  to  Schwyz  and  asked  permission  to  remove 
the  property  of  these  fugitives.  But  Schwyz  refused  the 
request,  and  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  persons. 
When  the  reformed  cantons  appealed  thereat  to  the  Con- 
federate right,  the  Schwyzers  said:  "We  are  accountable 
only  to  God  and  ourselves  for  the  management  of  our  af- 
fairs." And  they  confiscated  the  property  of  the  fugitives, 
cast  their  relatives,  who  were  also  of  the  evangelical  faith, 
into  prison  and  chains,  tortured  them  and  even  condemned 
some  to  death. 

Then  Zurich  seized  her  arms,  after  the  mediation  and 
entreaties  of  the  neutral  cantons  had  proved  useless  in  the 
Diet.  As  quickly  did  Schwyz  and  the  catholic  cantons 
raise  their  banners.  Zurich,  supported  by  Muhlhausen 
and  Schaffhausen,  entered  the  field  with  ten  thousand  men, 
over-ran  the  whole  of  Thurgau,  and  besieged  Rapperswyl. 
But  the  catholic  cantons  held  Rapperswyl  and  the  Albis, 
and  also  occupied  Bremgarten,  Mellingen  and  Baden,  and 
the  Brunig  against  Berne.  The  Bernese  stationed  troops 
to  defend  their  frontiers  against  Freiburg,  Solothurn  and 
Unterwalden,  and  marched  with  forty  banners  towards 
Lenzburg,  to  assist  the  Zurichers. 

There  was  no  discipline  among  the  reformed  troops. 
They  pillaged  and  burned,  wherever  they  went;  devas- 
tated the  convent  of  Rheinau,  plundered  villages  and 
churches,  and  drove  off  the  cattle.  Among  the  Bernese 


-1699.]  PFYFFER   OF   LUCERNE. 

there  was  so  little  order,  that  they  encamped  in  the  terri- 
tory of  Villmergen,  without  thought  of  the  enemy,  without 
sending  forward  scouts,  and  without  sufficient  ammunition 
for  their  artillery.  And,  although  two  young  men  of  Aar- 
gau  had  discovered  the  enemy  near  the  village  of  Wohlen 
and  hastened  back  with  the  alarm,  no  attention  was  paid 
to  their  warning,  because  some  young  lords  of  Berne  re- 
turned from  a  ride  with  the  assurance  that  there  was  no 
danger. 

But  on  the  height  of  Wohlen,  behind  the  wood,  there 
were,  in  fact,  more  than  four  thousand  Lucerners.  Col- 
onel Pfyffer  of  Lucerne  led  them  on.  And,  from  within 
a  sunken  way  on  the  height,  which  hid  half  their  bodies, 
they  suddenly  fired  upon  the  surprised  Bernese.  It  was 
two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  14th  of  January,  1656. 
The  Bernese  were  thrown  into  such  confusion  and  terror 
that  they  could  hardly  be  brought  to  stand.  As  powder 
and  balls  were  wanting, they  discharged  their  field-pieces  but 
twice.  All  fled.  Ten  fresh  banners  came  to  their  assist- 
ance, but  were  dragged  away  by  the  fugitives.  During 
the  combat,  colonel  Pfyffer  received  a  letter  from  Lucerne, 
ordering  him  not  to  attack,  because  there  were  hopes  of  a 
friendly  settlement.  But  he,  guessing  the  contents  of  the 
letter,  put  it,  with  seal  unbroken,  into  his  pocket,  and  pur- 
sued the  flying  Bernese,  large  numbers  of  whom  were 
slaughtered.  They  lost  about  eight  hundred  men  and 
eleven  field-pieces.  At  a  short  distance,  among  the  hill- 
vineyards,  were  stationed  several  Bernese  battalions :  they 
saw  the  flight  towards  Lenzburg  and  the  massacre  of  their 
fellow-soldiers,  but  did  not  move,  because  they  had  no 
orders. 

The  troops  of  Aargau,  alone,  when  they  learned  the  de- 
feat of  the  Bernese,  became  excited  and  wished  to  advance 
and  renew  the  battle.  But  the  council  of  war  forbade  this 
and  had  much  difficulty  in  restraining  their  impetuosity. 
Such  was  the  battle  of  Villmergen.  For  three  days,  the 
victors  remained  exulting  on  the  field  of  combat.  Then 
they  returned  home  with  much  booty,  and  shortly  after- 
wards (26th  January,  1656),  a  truce  and  then  peace  was 
concluded.  As  no  provisions  were  allowed  to  p'ass  into 


192  ZWEIER  OF  EVENBACH.  [1656- 

the  small  cantons,  and  as  neither  the  Lucerners  nor  the  Ber- 
nese could  trust  their  own  discontented  peasantry,  it  was 
for  the  interest  of  all  to  put  an  end  to  this  war,  which 
lasted  only  nine  weeks  and  had  already  cost  Zurich  alone 
more  than  414,000  florins.  The  treaty  of  peace  left  every 
thing  about  as  before.  In  religious  matters  and  in  all  re- 
lating to  emigration  from  one  canton  to  another,  each  had 
power  to  do  as  it  pleased  within  its  own  territory. 

The  catholic  cantons  might  have  derived  much  greater 
advantage  from  the  faulty  military  organization  of  the  re- 
formed, had  their  own  troops  been  on  a  better  footing. 
Dissatisfied  at  the  little  they  had  gained,  they  threw  all  the 
blame  on  colonel  Zweier  of  Evenbach,  chief  of  the  forces 
of  Uri,  and  said  that  he  must  have  had  an  understanding 
with  the  Zurichers  and  Bernese,  that  he  had  hindered  the 
pursuit  of  the  flying  enemy  at  Etzel,  and  the  raising  of  the 
siege  of  Rapperswyl.  And  a  monk  of  Einsiedeln  boldly 
declared  that  the  Zurichers  had  sent  to  the  colonel  fourteen 
hundred  ducats  concealed  in  a  capon.  This  gave  rise  tef 
long  disputes  and  interminable  suits  before  the  Diet. 

Now,  there  was  once  more  a  false  peace  in  the-  land. 
This  was  seen  to  be  the  case  everywhere,  and  especially 
in  the  common  bailiwicks.  Whatever  injured  one  party 
pleased  the  other;  and  the  common  -people  imitated  the 
masters  in  their  unchristian  fanaticism.  Little"  was  wanting 
to  cause  a  fresh  outbreak  of  the  war. 

A  Lucerner,  who  had  enlisted  soldiers  for  the  Spanish 
service,  was  travelling  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  (1664)  with 
forty-three  recruits,  through  by-paths  in  Thurgau  ;  in  the 
village  of  Lipperswyl  they  entered  the  reformed  church 
with  drawn  sabres,  and  made  much  noise  and  disturbance. 
A  woman,  seized  with  aifright,  fled  to  the  village  of  Wigol- 
dingen,  uttering  loud  shrieks  and  calling  for  help.  The 
Wigoldingeners  rushed  forth,  fell  upon  the  Spanish  sol- 
'  diers,  killed  five,  wounded  others,  and  made  some  prisoners. 
This  occurrence  again  brought  the  reformed  and  catholic 
cantons  into  arms  against  each  other.  They  called  out 
troops.  The  five  catholic  cantons  immediately  occupied 
Kaiserstuhl,  Mellingen  and  Bremgarten.  Many  diets  and 
conferences  were  held.  The  catholic  cantons  could  only 


-1699.]  JOHN   FATIO. 

be  appeased  by  blood.  Two  men  of  Wigoldingen  were 
condemned  to  death  (5th  Sept.,  1665)  by  a  majority  of  the 
cantons  governing  Thurgau,  in  spite  of  the  intercessions 
of  Zurich  for  mercy  on  the  unfortunates.  When  the  com- 
mune of  Wigoldingen  was  sentenced'  to  defray  all  the 
expenses  of  this  long  quarrel,  collections  were  made  in  all 
the  churches  of  Zurich  on  their  behalf. 

Shortly  afterwards,  information  was  received  that  the 
king  of  France  intended  to  build  a  strong  fortress  at 
Huningen,  near  Bale,  as  a  means  of  defence  for  France,  of 
offence  against  the  Swiss.  This  made  the  Confederates 
anxious,  and  they  sent  messengers  to  Paris  to  the  king 
(1679).  But  when  their  attempts  to  prevent  the  building 
of  the  fortress  proved  vain,  the  excitement  increased, 
especially  at  Bale.  Here  the  citizens  complained  against 
the  little,  or  executive,  council,  accusing  many  of  its  mem- 
bers with  having  received  French  gold,  and  with  having 
exceeded  their  authority  in  matters  of  election  and  legisla- 
tion, to  the.  detriment  of  the  state.  The  corporations  were 
assembled.  Many  abuses  came  to  light.  Lords  of  the 
council  and  their  wives,  who  had  influenced  the  council 
elections,  were  deprived  of  their  honors,  or  cast  into  prison 
and  heavily  fined.  The  council  yielded,  for  the  exas- 
perated citizens  seized  their  arms.  The  Confederates  sent 
mediators  to  settle  the  quarrel  (1691).  Too  much  space 
would  be  required  to  detail  the  divisions,  disturbances  and 
acts  of  violence  which  took  place.  Finally,  after  the 
mediators,  with  delegates  from  the  council  and  the  citizens, 
had  come  to  a  settlement  of  the  rights  of  the  great  and 
little  councils  in  matters  of  police,  legislation  and  admin- 
istration and  in  nominations  to  office,  and  the  approving 
majority  of  the  citizens  had  sanctioned  it  by  an  oath,  the 
peace  was  broken  in  the  most  bloody  manner. 

When  John  Fatio,  one  of  the  advocates  of  the  citizens, 
was  imprisoned  over  the  Rhine-gate,  on  accusation  of  having 
done  much  on  his  own  motion,  and  without  authority  from 
the  citizens,  an  armed  band,  distinguished  by  white  scarfs 
on  their  arms,  assembled  at  night  and  demanded  the  release 
of  the  prisoner.  The  alarm  was  given.  The  friends  of  the 
government  rushed  forth.  Citizens  stood  in  arms  against 
9  R 


194  SOURCES  OF  SWISS  [1700- 

citizens ;  two  of  Fatio's  partisans  were  shot  (23d  Sept., 
1691) ;  about  fifty  others  were  imprisoned  the  next  day ; 
armed  peasants  were  brought  into  the  city  to  maintain 
order.  A  severe  tribunal  sat  in  judgment  on  the  authors 
of  the  revolt.  John  Fatio,  John  Muller  and  Conrad 
Moyses  were  beheaded  (28th  Sept.)  on  the  square  before 
the  council-house ;  others  were  punished  by  the  galleys, 
by  banishment,  or  fines. 

Thus  sometimes  here,  sometimes  there,  numerous  civil 
discords  and  disputes  were  added  to  the  quarrel  about 
creeds  and  churches,  so  that  it  seemed  as  if  Switzerland 
would  never  find  rest,  only  she  was  no  longer  disturbed 
by  foreign  powers.  Affliction  and  distress  were  in  many 
households.  At  last,  to  all  their  miseries  was  superadded 
a  contagious  pestilence,  which  swept  away  many  persons 
(1697),  especially  in  the  city  of  Bale  and  in  Aargau.  It 
manifested  itself  by  plague-boils  on  the  lower-stomach. 
The  temperature  was  unwholesome,  and  the  preceding 
winter  had  been  very  warm.  Venomous  worms  and  cater- 
pillars devastated  trees,  grass  and  fruits  ;  and  never  before 
had  so  many  water-mice  and  moles  been  seen.  This  lasted 
until  the  year  drew  towards  its  close,  and  a  more  severe 
winter  appeared. 


CHAPTER  XLIY. 

HOW  THE  TOGGENBURGER8  WERE  DEPRIVED  OF  THEIR  ANCIENT 
LIBERTIES  BY  THE  ABBOT  OF  ST.  GALLEN,  AND  WHAT  HAPPENED 
IN  CONSEQUENCE. 

[A.  D.  1700  to  1712.] 

THE  ancient  "Swiss  became  independent,  and  thus  re- 
mained so  long  as  they  did  not  fear  foreign  powers,  nor 
flatter  them  from  motives  of  interest  or  vanity.  And  they 
were  esteemed  by  other  nations,  so  long  as  they  them- 
selves esteemed  eternal  justice  more  than  life.  But  when 
from  cupidity  or  cowardice  they  preferred  prudence  to  right, 
when  it  became  usual  for  them  to  sell  flesh  and  blood  into 


-1712.}  GLORY  AND   DEBASEMENT.  195 

foreign  service,  when  the  principal  men  allowed  them- 
selves to  be  bound  by  the  gold  chains  and  decorations  of 
princes,  then  ruin  fell  on  the  fatherland.  Men  abased 
themselves  abroad,  in  order  to  stand  high  at  home ;  they 
preferred  their  own  canton  to  the  Confederacy,  their  own 
lamily  to  their  canton ;  they  were  small  in  great  things, 
and  great  in  small ;  they  sought  employments  from 
selfish  interest ;  they  sold  offices  at  auction,  or  disposed  of 
them  as  marriage-dowers;  the  Swiss  were  called  free, 
but  most  of  them  were  wretched  subjects  and  had  less 
freedom  and  fewer  rights  than  the  serfs  of  kings ;  craft 
and  violence  were  constantly  employed  to  diminish  more 
and  more  the  few  franchises  of  the  people,  and  to  increase 
the  absolute  power  of  the  masters. 

Such  was  especially  the  lot  of  the  country  of  Toggen- 
burg.  There  the  communes,  by  favor  of  the  old  counts 
of  Toggenburg,  had  formerly  acquired  great  privileges  :  a 
voice  in  the  appointment  of  the  higher  and  lower  tribunals, 
in  the  disbursement  of  fines  and  other  communal  moneys ; 
a  right  through  their  general  and  other  assemblies  over 
the  administration  of  the  public  revenue  and  over  the  mi- 
litary force.  No  man,  except  one  of  themselves,  could  be 
appointed  bailiff  over  them. 

But  when  the  abbot  of  St.  Gallen  (1468),  for  14,500 
Rhenish  florins,  purchased  from  a  baron  of  Karon  those 
rights  over  the  land  which  the  latter  had  inherited  from 
the  old  counts  of  Toggenburg,  the  abbot  desired  also  to 
appropriate  rights  which  he  had  not  purchased,  but  had 
''solemnly  confirmed  to  the  people.  And  as  the  Toggen- 
burgers  had  (1436)  made  an  alliance  with  the  cantons  of 
Glarus  and  Schwyz  for  the  protection  of  their  own  privi- 
leges, so  later  (1469),  the  abbot  made  another  defensive 
alliance  with  the  same  cantons  for  the  protection  of  his 
rights.  As  his  abbey  was  an  ally  of  the  Confederacy,  but 
he  himself  a  titular  prince  of  the  holy  German  empire,  he 
took  advantage  of  this  double  character  to  become,  or  to 
appear,  more  than  he  really  was.  When  interest  dictated, 
he  acted  against  the  emperor  as  a  free  Confederate,  or 
against  the.  Confederates  as  a  prince  of  the  empire  and  a 
vassal  of  the  imperial  throne. 


196  GRADUAL  ENCROACHMENTS.  [170O- 

He  behaved  with  moderation  at  first ;  lie  began  by  ques- 
tioning the  freedom  of  the  Toggenburgers,  and  by  calling 
the  people  his  serfs  (1510)  that  they  might  insensibly  be- 
come accustomed  to  the  name.  Finally  he  attacked  their 
franchises.  This  occasioned  many  lawsuits  before  the  pro- 
tecting cantons.  But  the  protecting  cantons  were  favor- 
able to  the  abbot.  So  he  first  (1539)  secured  an  appeal  to 
his  tribunal  from  all  the  courts  in  the  land  ;  then  (1540)  he 
assumed  the  exclusive  right  of  appointing  all  judges  and  of 
disbursing  the  confiscated  property  of  criminals  ;  also  the 
right  to  select  a  foreigner  as  bailiff,  and  to  manage  without 
question  the  estates  of  all  churches  and  curacies ;  the  right 
of  hunting  and  fishing ;  afterwards  (1543),  the  appointment 
of  pastors  to  all  the  churches,  of  recorders  and  constables 
(1555),  and  the  power  to  grant  the  right  of  citizenship  (1596). 
Finally  all  general  and  other  assemblies  of  the  people 
were  forbidden,  and  the  military  power  passed  entirely 
into  the  hands  of  the  bishop  (1654).  Then  he  ruled  as  he 
pleased ;  allowed  forced  recruiting  for  foreign  service  ;  filled 
all  offices  with  his  own  creatures ;  looked  on  with  indif- 
ference when  magistrates  and  convents,  by  craft  and  in- 
trigues, obtained  possession  of  the  best  estates,  or  when  the 
public  fines  were  raised  to  exorbitant  sums. 

At  last  abbot  Leodegar  Burgisser  thought  himself  abso- 
lute master  in  the  land.  He  ordered  the  people  to  build 
and  maintain,  at  their  own  expense,  a  new  highway 
through  the  Hummelwald.  And  when  the  delegates  of 
the  people  represented  to  him  that  this  was  a  more  grie- 
vous  burden  on  the  Toggenburgers  than  the  old  labor- 
dues  and  day-service  from  which  they  had  twice  ransomed 
themselves,  he  condemned  these  men  to  a  fine  of  1540 
crowns,  compelled  them  to  recant  in  open  court,  and  de- 
prived them  of  civil  rights. 

Then  (1701)  the  oppressed  Toggenburgers  laid  their  com- 
plaints before  Schwyz  and  Grlarus.  Grlarus  was  touched  by 
the  sufferings  of  the  poor  country-people ;  as  was  Schwyz, 
although  the  Toggenburgers  were  of  the  reformed  faith. 
"  Even  if  the  Toggenburgers  were  Turks  and  Heathens," 
said  the  Schwyzers  in  general  assembly,  "they  are  never- 
theless our  Confederates  and  fellow-countrymen,  and 


-1712.]  NABHOLZ  OF  ZURICH.  197 

we  will  see  justice  done  to  them."  This  displeased  the 
abbot  and  he  appealed  to  all  the  cantons,  invoking  the 
Confederate  right.  This  occasioned  many  fruitless  Diets 
from  year  to  year.  Zurich  and  Lucerne,  who  were  also 
protectors  of  the  abbot,  took  part  in  the  angry  quarrel. 
Many  supported  the  Toggenburgers,  because  they  also 
were  reformed  and  were  persecuted  for  their  religion ; 
many  opposed  the  bishop,  because  he  had  recently  made  a 
defensive  alliance  with  Austria  and  treated  the  country  of 
Toggenburg  as  if  it  were  a  fief  of  the  emperor  and  empire. 
The  longer  the  quarrel  continued,  the  greater,  as  usual,  be- 
came the  confusion  of  the  matter.  Finally  the  ancient  re- 
ligious hate  added  its  poison  also. 

For  when  Schwyz  and  the  catholic  cantons  saw  that 
Zurich  and  Berne  supported  the  Toggenburgers,  and  en- 
couraged them  to  maintain  their  ancient  rights,  principally 
from  religious  sympathy,  Schwyz  adopted  the  party  of  the 
abbot  of  St.  Gallen  and  declared  (1703) :  "  The  newer  rights 
of  the  abbot,  his  deeds  and  charters  supersede  the  old 
franchises  of  the  country,  and  without  consent  of  Glarus 
and  Schwyz  no  new  reformed  church  shall  be  established 
in  Toggenburg."  But  this  did  not  deter  Zurich  and  Berne, 
and  the  Toggenburgers  still  asserted  their  ancient  fran- 
chises. Now  came  the  imperial  envoy  and  brought  a  docu- 
ment from  his  master  which  said :  "  The  emperor  must 
decide,  because  the  country  of  Toggenburg  is  incontestibly 
an  original  imperial  fief."  But  Zurich  and  Berne  replied : 
"  Toggenburg  lies  within  the  Confederate  borders,  and  the 
abbot  of  St.  Gallen  has  for  many  years  recognized  us  as 
arbiters."  The  embassadors  of  Holland  and  of  the  kings 
of  Prussia  and  England  also  encouraged  the  Zurichers  and 
Bernese  to  resist  the  emperor. 

As  the  quarrel  extended  more  and  more,  and  discord, 
feuds  and  assassinations  prevailed  in  Toggenburg,  because 
the  abbot  of  St.  Gallen  himself  designedly  sowed  dissen- 
sion between  the  catholic  and  reformed  inhabitants,  a 
wise  man  of  Zurich,  named  Nabholz,  attempted,  by  his 
counsels,  to  restore  peace  and  order.  His  efforts  were 
fruitless.  The  abbot  obstinately  insisted  on  all  his  claims 
to  power.  The  Toggenburgers,  however,  disregarded 


198  DECLARATION   OF   WAR.  [1700- 

them,  and  would  not  obey  him,  but  drove  his  governors, 
officers  and  soldiers  out  of  the  castles.  Thereupon  the 
abbot  occupied  with  troops  all  the  bridges,  roads  and 
passes  of  the  ancient  territory  of  St.  Gallen.  The  Toggen- 
burgers  armed.  Avoyer  Durler  of  Lucerne,  a  zealous 
friend  to  the  abbot,  called  on  the  catholic  cantons  to  put 
down  the  insurgents.  Avoyer  Willading  of  Berne  op- 
posed him,  and  called  upon  the  reformed  cantons  to  draw 
the  sword  without  delay  against  the  catholics,  in  order  to 
protect  the  ancient  rights  of  the  Toggenburgers  and  to 
defend  the  reformed  church.  Twelve  years  had  this  quar- 
rel lasted,  and  it  became  more  and  more  bitter  every  day. 

As  soon  as  the  Toggenburgers  saw  that  Zurich  and 
Berne  would  protect  them,  and  learned  that  inspector 
Bodmer  was  coming  to  defend  them  with  nearly  three 
thousand  Zurich ers,  they  declared  war  against  the  abbot 
(April  12,  1712)  for  the  maintenance  of  their  franchises. 
Nabholz,  hitherto  their  friend  and  counsellor,  now  became 
their  leader,  called  out  the  landsturm,  and  fought  for  them 
against  the  abbot's  people  as  faithfully  with  the  sword  as 
he  had  done  with  the  pen.  The  convent  and  castles  of 
the  abbot  were  seized,  but  he  threw  sixteen  companies  of 
infantry  into  the  city  of  Wyl  for  its  defence.  In  the 
mean  while  the  troops  of  Zurich  pillaged  and  sacked  the 
territory  of  St.  Gallen  without  hindrance. 

Now  Lucerne,  Uri,  Schwyz,  Unterwalden  and  Zug  also 
seized  their  arms,  covered  their  frontiers,  marched  upon 
Toggenburg  and  occupied  the  county  of  Baden.  The 
nuncio  counted  out  to  them  26,000  crowns  from  the  papal 
treasure,  and  at  Rome  prayers  were  offered  to  the  saints  in 
their  behalf.  The  priests  distributed  consecrated  bullets 
and  amulets  to  the  soldiers. 

Thereupon  Berne  drew  10,000  crowns  from  her  treasury 
and  sent  fifteen  thousand  men  into  the  field.  She  sta- 
tioned troops  on  all  her  frontiers,  and  even  in  the  county 
of  Lenzburg,  near  Othmarfingen,  against  Baden  and  the 
free  bailiwicks.  A  Bernese  battalion  marched  towards 
the  Stilli ;  under  cover  of  twelve  field-pieces  they  crossed 
the  Aar,  and  joined  the  troops  of  Zurich  near  Wurelingen. 
The  latter  had,  by  this  time,  made  themselves  masters  of 


-1712.]  MAJOR  FELBEB. 

all  Thurgau.  Thus  war  and  cries  of  war  prevailed 
throughout  the  land.  Even  the  Yalaisians  were  in  full 
march  to  support  the  catholic  cantons. 

Grlarus  remained  neutral  in  this  disturbance,  as  did  Solo- 
thurn  and  the  bishop  of  Constance.  Bale  and  Freiburg 
lamented  this  war  of  Swiss  against  Swiss,  and  exhorted 
them  to  an  amicable  settlement,  but  too  late.  The  abbot 
of  St.  Grallen  sent  his  valuables  for  safety  to  Lindau  (a 
Suabian  city  on  an  island  in  the  lake  of  Constance) ;  he 
himself  retired  to  Rorschach,  and  called  upon  the  cities 
of  St.  Gallen  and  the  cantons  of  Appenzell  and  Grlarus  for 
assistance ;  they  did  not  help  him,  but  maintained  their 
neutrality.  Thereat  the  emperor,  from  Presburg  in  Hun- 
gary, ordered  the  Suabian  circle  to  support  the  abbot  of 
St.  Gallen. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

THE    TOGGENBURGER     WAR.        SECOND    BATTLE     NEAR    VILLMERGEN. 
PEACE    CONCLUDED    AT    AARAU. 

[A.  D.  1712  to  ITia] 

THE  Zurichers  and  Bernese  had  marched  with  ten  thou- 
sand men  against  the  little  city  of  Wyl  to  besiege  the 
bishop's  troops  therein.  Thither  came  Nabholz  also,  with 
two  thousand  Toggenburgers  and  a  body  of  men  from 
Thurgau.  The  little  city  was  cannonaded  and  bombarded, 
the  country  and  villages  were  ravaged.  But  the  abbot's 
soldiers  defended  themselves  very  valiantly  under  major 
Felber,  and  made  several  bloody  sallies.  And  when  the 
men  of  Thurgau  withdrew  from  the  besiegers,  by  whom 
they  were  held  in  little  esteem,  Felber  extended  his  forays 
as  far  as  Braunau  and  Summeri.  So  cruel  were  his  people, 
that  they  killed  two  defenceless  men,  and  cut  off  a  wo- 
man's hands  and  feet.  Then  the  cry  for  vengeance  against 
such  cruelty  arose  throughout  all  Thurgau;  the  raging 
landsturm  '  marched  once  more  on  Weinfelden ;  among 


200  FLIGHT  OF  THE  ABBOT.  [1712- 

them  were  seen  women,  and  children  twelve  years  old. 
And  they  were  as  cruel  to  the  catholics  as  these  had  been 
to  the  reformed. 

Then  said  Nabholz  to  the  generals  of  Berne  and  Zurich : 
"Let  us  invade  the  abbot's  ancient  states,  whence  corne 
many  of  the  defenders  of  Wyl.  When  they  see  their 
huts  and  villages  burning  in  the  distance,  they  will  quit 
the  others,  and  the  city  will  be  weakened."  So  with  one 
thousand  men  he  entered  the  abbot's  ancient  country,  near 
Oberglatt.  And  when  those  in  the  city  saw  their  dwell- 
ings burning  in  the  distance,  they  hastily  left  their  ranks 
to  fight  for  their  huts.  Thereupon  the  city  was  distracted 
with  fear  and  surrendered  to  her  enemies  (22  May).  The 
abbot's  soldiers  dispersed  and  were  so  angry  with  their 
leader  Felber,  that  his  life  was  not  safe,  and  he  was  obliged 
to  seek  protection  of  the  besiegers,  in  order  to  escape  to 
Bernardszell.  But  the  furious  people  pursued  him  there, 
dragged  him  from  the  curate's  house,  set  him  on  a  sorry 
horse,  led  him  with  shouts  and  insults  to  the  bridge  over 
the  Sitter,  and  killed  him  with  four  gun-shots  through  the 
body.  Then  they  hacked  his  corpse  with  their  knives, 
and  threw  it  into  the  waters  of  the  Sitter  (2-i  May). 

In  the  mean  while  valiant  Nabholz  had  penetrated  still 
further  into  the  ancient  territory  of  the  abbot  of  St.  Gal- 
len.  There  the  inhabitants  of  Gossau  surrendered  to  him, 
after  having,  in  their  anger,  assassinated  their  own  general. 
Two  days  before  they  had  repulsed  a  thousand  Toggen- 
burgers,  who  had  been  sent  against  them  with  fire  and 
sword,  and  who,  in  their  flight,  had  strangled  the  defence- 
less catholic  priest  of  Niederglatt  in  a  stable.  The  ban- 
ners of  Zurich  and  Berne  advanced  victorious  through  the 
whole  of  Thurgau  as  far  as  the  city  of  St.  Gallen.  Here 
they  placed  a  garrison  in  the  city  and  at  Eorschach.  The 
abbot,  full  of  fear,  had  already  fled  to  Augsburg  with  his 
valuables. 

When  the  Toggenburgers  saw  that  their  cause  was  suc- 
cessful, they  condemned  to  death  several  of  the  abbot's 
people  who  had  betrayed  them.  They  entirely  threw  off 
the  abbot's  sovereignty,  annulled  also  their  alliance  with 
Schwyz  and  Glarus,  and  said  to  the  people  of  Gaster,  Uz- 


-1718.]  SURRENDER   OF   BADEN.  201 

nach,  Gams  and  other  places :  "  Let  us  form  a  single  re- 
public, which  shall  be  like  the  free  cantons  of  the  Confed- 
erates." And  they  drew  up  a  constitution,  which  they 
carried  to  Aarau,  where  the  cantons  were  holding  a  Diet. 
But  this  plan  displeased  the  lords  of  Zurich  and  Berne,  be- 
cause they  preferred  to  have  the  Toggenburgers  as  subjects 
rather  than  as  free  fellow-confederates.  Even  Nabholz, 
the  zealous  defender  of  the  Toggenburgers'  cause,  refused  to 
support  their  petition,  though  they  offered  him  much  money. 

In  the  mean  while,  also,  two  thousand  Bernese  had 
passed  the  Aar  near  Stilli  and  united  with  three  thousand 
Zurichers,  led  by  colonel  Hans  Caspar  Wertrnuller.  They 
crossed  the  Hasenberg  to  bring  the  county  of  Baden  into 
complete  subjection,  drove  out  the  scattered  forces  of  the 
catholic  cantons  and  advanced  as  far  as  the  city  of  Mellin- 
gen.  On  the  opposite  side,  from  the  county  of  Lenzburg, 
came  seven  thousand  Bernese  over  the  Bunz.  The  catho- 
lic garrisons  fled  to  Baden.  Mellingen  was  taken  without 
a  blow.  All  the  inhabited  places  of  the  county  of  Baden 
were  compelled  to  render  homage  to  the  conquerors,  as  did 
the  city  of  Bremgarten.  Then  the  army  marched  to  Baden 
to  besiege  the  fortress.  Wertmuller  encamped  among  the 
vineyards  on  the  Lagerberg  and  awaited  the  arrival  of  the 
Bernese,  who  had  made  a  circuit  from  Mellingen  to  Fahr- 
windisch,  along  the  Reuss,  to  attack  Baden  on  the  oppo- 
site side.  The  besieged  kept  up  a  heavy  fire  from  the  city, 
from  the  square  of  the  capuchin -church  and  from  the  lofty 
castle,  upon  Wertrnuller's  camp.  The  Zurichers  replied 
with  forty  cannons  and  mortars.  The  churches,  the  tower 
and  many  houses  were  greatly  injured.  The  parapet  of 
the  castle  fell  with  a  crash  upon  the  rocks  below.  Then 
on  the  other  side,  near  the  great  baths,  over  against  the  cas- 
tle, appeared  the  Bernese  also,  with  twenty  field-pieces, 
howitzers  and  mortars.  This  so  terrified  the  besieged,  tlmt 
they  surrendered  on  hard  conditions  (31  May).  The  com- 
mander of  the  fortress,  Crivelli  of  Uri,  marched  out  with 
his  garrison,  but  without  artillery. 

This  event  and  the  fact  that  the  Rheinthal,  also,  was 
obliged  to  render  homage  to  Berne  and  Zurich,  occasioned 
great  trouble,  discord  and  disorder  among  the  catholic  can- 
9* 


202  ACKEKMANN  OF    UNTERWALDEN.  [1712- 

tons.  Some  wished  for  peace,  others  for  war.  The  ern- 
bassadors  of  Austria  and  France  promised  assistance  ;  the 
pope  sent  money ;  Freiburg  and  Solothurn  took  up  arms 
for  them ;  so  did  Yalais  and  all  the  catholics  in  the  com- 
mon bailiwicks.  But  thereat  those  reformed  cantons  which 
had  hitherto  been  quiet,  threatened  to  arrn  also,  and  the 
evangelicals  in  the  common  bailiwicks  prepared  to  support 
Zurich  and  Berne.  Thus,  at  this  time,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  Swiss  stood  in  arms  for  bloody  conflict  with 
each  other;  never  had  the  Confederacy  raised  so  many 
troops  to  repel  a  foreign  enemy.  But  one  sword  kept  the 
others  in  the  scabbard.  France  and  Austria  did,  indeed, 
march  their  troops  towards  the  frontiers ;  but  the  English, 
Dutch  and  Prussians,  on  the  other  side,  held  them  also  in 
check. 

While  the  deputies  of  the  Confederates  were  assembled 
at  Aarau  and  negotiating  for  peace,  bailiff  and  knight  Ack- 
ermann  of  Unterwalden  marched  with  five  thousand  men 
against  the  bridge  of  Sins,  where  lay  some  Bernese  troops : 
three  hundred  entrenched  in  the  church-yard  of  Sins,  seven 
hundred  near  the  .village  of  Auw.  These  latter  were  sur- 
prised, so  that  they  saved  themselves  with  difficulty.  Many 
Bernese  were  slain.  Colonel  Monier  of  Berne,  who  fought 
valiantly,  first  in  the  church-yard,  then  in  the  church,  was 
compelled  to  surrender  with  his  soldiers.  They  would 
have  been  massacred  without  pity  by  the  troops  of  Unter- 
walden, Schwyz  and  Zug,  had  not  Ackermann,  who  was 
himself  wounded,  withstood  the  bloodthirsty  men  with  no- 
ble heroism  (20  July).  On  the  other  side,  also,  the  Schwyz- 
ers  advanced  (22  July)  against  the  lake  of  Zurich,  near 
Hutten  and  Bellenschanz.  But  here  they  encountered  the 
valiant  Zuricher  leader  John  Caspar  Wertmuller.  Seven 
hours  long  fought  the  Schwyzers;  they  lost  two  hundred 
men ;  but  they  were  forced  to  give  way  before  the  Zurich- 
ers.  On  their  slain  were  found  consecrated  letters,  with 
numbers,  crosses  and  promises  of  certain  victory. 

An  army  of  the  catholics,  over  nine  thousand  strong, 
crossed  the  country  above  Muri  to  Villmergen,  where  the 
Bernese  were  posted  with  eight  thousand  men.  Here,  close 
to  the  same  place  where  the  Bernese  had  once  already  (24 


-1718.]  BERNE'S  SUPERIORITY  ix  ARMS.  208 

Jan.,  1656)  experienced  a  bloody  defeat  from  the  catholic 
cantons,  below  Dintikon  and  Hernbrunn,  the  earth  was 
again  to  be  reddened  with  the  blood  of  Swiss,  shed  by 
Swiss.  It  was  the  25th  of  July,  1712.  The  thunder  of 
artillery  opened  the  fight.  It  lasted  four  hours.  Then  the 
Bernese  spread  terror  and  confusion  among  the  people  of 
the  catholic  cantons,  broke  their  array  and  slew  them  in 
their  flight.  Two  thousand  and  more  of  the  catholics  cov- 
ered the  field  with  their  bodies. 

When,  after  this,  the  Toggenburgers  subdued  Uznach 
and  Gaster,  the  city  of  Rapperswyl  yielded  to  the  Zu- 
richers,  and  the  victors  entered  from  all  sides  into  the  ter- 
ritory of  the  catholics,  the  latter  became  alarmed  and  sued 
for  peace. 

Lucerne  and  Uri  had  already  signed  a  treaty  of  peace  at 
the  Diet  of  Aarau  (18  July) ;  but  the  Lucerner  peasants, 
urged,  in  the  name  of  God  and  of  religion,  by  the  papal 
nuncio  and  by  their  priests  and  monks,  who  were  opposed 
to  peace,  marched  against  the  city  to  force  their  govern- 
ment to  renew  the  war,  then  finally  against  the  Bernese  at 
Villmergen.  Here  they  found  their  ruin,  as  has  been  rela- 
ted. Even  after  the  battle  of  Villmergen,  some  two  thou- 
sand men  of  Willisau  rose  against  the  government  of 
Lucerne ;  but  they  were  soon  reduced  to  obedience  by 
Bernese  troops  and  compelled  to  pay  heavy  costs.  The 
Bernese  soldiers  were  the  best  in  the  Confederacy,  in  equip- 
ment, discipline,  the  quality  and  management  of  their  arms. 
Finally  (9th  and  llth  August,  1712)  a  general  peace 
was  concluded  at  Aarau,  greatly  to  the  advantage  of  the 
conquerors.  The  five  catholic  cantons  were  obliged,  not 
only  to  yield  to  Zurich  and  Berne  their  rights  over  Baden, 
Rapperswyl  and  the  lower  free  bailiwicks,  but  also  to  asso- 
ciate Berne  in  the  sovereignty  over  Thurgau  and  Rhein- 
thal,  whereby  the  votes  and  rights  of  the  two  religious 
parties  were  equalized  therein.  Glarus  also  participated, 
with  Berne  and  Zurich. 

The  humbled  abbot  Leodegar  of  St.  Gallen  would  not 
accept  the  peace,  but  remained  obstinate  and  self-exiled 
until  he  died.  In  the  mean  while,  Zurich  and  Berne  held 
possession  of  his  territory,  But  when  the  new  abbot  Joseph 


204  THE  NUNCIO   CARACCIOLI.  [1701- 

subscribed  the  peace  at  Korschach  (1718),  his  estates  were 
restored  to  him ;  even  the  Toggenburgers  were  again  sub- 
ject to  him,  but  with  greater  privileges  and  rights,  under 
the  protection  of  Zurich  and  Berne.  Only  the  pope  and 
his  nuncio  rejected  the  treaty  of  Aarau  and  declared  it 
null.  But  the  reconciled  Confederates  cared  little  for  this, 
and  when  the  people  of  some  bailiwicks  of  the  canton  of 
Lucerne  were  again  excited  by  the  priests  against  their 
government,  the  latter  introduced  into  the  city  a  garrison 
from  Entlibuch,  demanded  of  the  pope  the  imposition  of  a 
tax  upon  the  convents  for  the  costs  of  the  war  and  also  the 
recall  of  the  nuncio  Caraccioli,  whom  they  called  the  ori- 
ginator of  all  the  trouble.  The  catholic  cantons  long  felt 
the  bitter  effects  of  this  war ;  for  they  had  incurred  great 
expenses.  Schwyz  levied  a  tax  of  five  crowns  on  each 
household ;  Lucerne  was  obliged  to  exercise  force  to  raise 
her  share  of  the  costs;  Uri  to  appease  her  subjects  in  Le- 
ventina  by  important  franchises  (1713),  and  thenceforth  to 
call  them  "  dear  and  faithful  compatriots." 


CHAPTER    XLVI. 

CONDITION     OF     THE     SWISS     AT     THE     COMMENCEMENT     OF     THK 
EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.       THOMAS    MASSNER's    QUARREL. 

[A.  D.  1701  to  1714.] 

AFTER  the  fratricidal  battle  of  Villmergen,  the  Confed- 
erates were  engaged  in  no  foreign  or  domestic  war  for  the 
space  of  eighty-six  years.  But  this  period  was  not  one  of 
happiness,  of  quiet  or  of  glory ;  it  passed  in  constant  dif- 
ferences, sometimes  of  one  canton  with  the  others,  some- 
times of  the  magistrates  with  their  subjects.  During  every 
ten  years  there  were,  now  here,  now  there,  fresh  intrigues, 
fresh  conspiracies,  fresh  revolts,  until  the  rotten  edifice  of 
the  old  Confederacy  crumbled  at  the  first  blow  given  to  it 
by  the  hostile  hand  of  France. 

The  first  wars  of  the  ancient  Confederates  were  under- 


-1714,]  SARASIN   OF   GENEVA.  205 

taken  on  their  own  account  and  for  their  protection  against 
the  oppressors  of  their  rights  and  liberties.  Thereby  they 
obtained  an  imperishable  glory  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  Then  the  cantons  and  cities,  which  had  become 
free,  undertook  numerous  wars  to  acquire  sovereignties  and 
subjects  and  to  extend  their  limited  territories.  They 
reaped  internal  discord  and  an  equivocal  reputation.  The 
deeds  of  the  greatest  conquerors  finally  fall  into  obli- 
vion or  contempt,  as  they  are  seldom  for  the  benefit  of  hu- 
manity. Afterwards,  they  sold  their  soldiers  for  hire  to 
foreign  countries  and  foreign  wars,  and  with  the  blood  of 
their  brave  men  purchased  for  the  sons  of  noble  families 
large  pay,  annual  pensions,  golden  chains,  decorations  and 
titles,  such  as  kings  are  accustomed  to  confer  on  their  ser- 
vants. Therewith  despotism  and  pride  and  a  shameless 
luxury  entered  into  a  few  great  families,  foreign  manners 
and  foreign  vices  into  the  cabins  of  the  people ;  Switzer- 
land became  the  theatre  of  the  scandalous  intrigues  of 
foreign  embassadors  and  of  the  ambition  of  the  home  gov- 
ernments for  unlimited  power  over  their  subjects.  Then 
the  Confederates  showed  more  friendship  for  foreign  kings 
than  for  each  other ;  they  forbade  free  emigration  between 
the  cantons,  and  even  prohibited  the  purchase  and  sale  of 
the  most  necessary  articles.  Their  Diets  were  heartless 
ceremonials  and  their  me'an  deeds  contradicted  their  impos- 
ing words.  Finally,  the  Swiss  drew  the  sword,  no  longer 
against  foreign  potentates  but,  urged  by  sectarian  hate,  by 
envy,  ambition  or  party  spirit,  against  each  other  only. 
Thereby  they  more  than  once  sullied  the  glory  of  their 
forefathers,  and  impelled  each  other  to  the  brink  of  a  com- 
mon abyss. 

In  vain  did  wise  patriots  urge  that  the  Confederate  bond 
should  be  ameliorated  and  strengthened  before  it  was  en- 
tirely loosed.  In  vain,  also,  in  the  Diet  itself,  did  the 
evangelical  cantons  propose  a  new  Confederate  Constitu- 
tion ;  the  selfishness  of  the  majority  caused  it  to  be  re- 
jected. And  when  Sarasin,  a  Genevese,  suggested  that  a 
supreme  federal  authority  should  be  created,  by  means  of 
which  the  divided  Confederacy  would  secure  more  consoli- 
dation and  unity,  he  was  laughed  at. 


206  RECIPROCAL   DISTRUST.  [1701- 

As  an  offset,  Uri,  Schwyz  and  Unterwalden  assembled 
(24th  June,  1713)  with  great  pomp  at  the  Rutli,  where,  four 
hundred  years  before,  their  fathers  had  sworn  together  the 
first  oath  of  freedom.  There,  with  solemn  oath,  they  re- 
newed their  most  ancient  bond,  but  with  the  saddening 
remembrance  of  their  misfortune  at  Villmergen  and  with 
inimical  feelings  towards  the  large  cantons  in  their  hearts. 
And  two  years  afterwards  (9th  May,  1715),  the  catholic 
cantons  made  a  treaty  at  Selothurn  with  France,  whose 
king  was  then  the  most  bitter  enemy  of  the  evangelicals. 
This  one-sided  treaty  frightened  the  reformed  cantons,  and 
made  them  distrustful.  They  suspected  that  it  contained 
some  dangerous  secret  articles,  that  foreign  troops  were  to 
be  called  into  the  country,  the  smaller  cantons  strengthened 
at  the  expense  of  the  larger,  Geneva  and  Yaud  restored  to 
the  duke  of  Savoy,  Thurgau  and  the  county  of  Kyburg  to 
the  emperor.  To  the  honor  of  the  Confederates,  the  future 
did  not  justify  these  suspicions,  but  the  suspicions  them- 
selves showed  the  reciprocal  animosity  and  distrust  which 
existed. 

Parties  were  constantly  formed,  not  for  the  glory  and 
happiness  of  the  whole  Confederacy  against  foreign  powers, 
but  for  the  benefit  of  some  small  territory,  or  for  the  benefit 
of  foreigners,  against  fellow-confederates.  Some  were  at- 
tached to  the  emperor,  others  to  France,  a  very  few,  only, 
to  Switzerland.  Hence  crafty  embassadors  of  foreign 
princes  obtained  a  constantly  increasing  power  in  the  land, 
to  the  constantly  increasing  dishonor  of  the  Confederates 
and  to  the  misery  of  many  a  family,  as  shown  by  the  fol- 
lowing instance. 

A  young  man  from  Grisons,  who  was  pursuing  his  stu- 
dies at  Geneva,  took  a  ride  for  pleasure  into  the  neighboring 
territory  of  Savoy.  There  the  French  embassador  caused 
?him  to  be  secretly  seized  (1710)  and  confined  in  a  fortress, 
because  the  young  man's  father,  Thomas  Massner,  a  lord 
of  the  council  of  Coire,  was  a  partisan  of  Austria.  When 
the  father  learnt  the  imprisonment  of  his  innocent  son,  and 
had  in  vain  demanded  justice  and  sought  assistance,  he 
became  very  angry,  and,  with  an  armed  band,  seized  the 
brother  of  Merveilleux,  the  French  charge  at  Coire,  that  he 


-1714.]  THE  DUKE  OF  VENDOME.  207 

might  hold  him  as  a  hostage.  An  accommodation  was 
made ;  the  councillor  gave  up  his  prisoner  and  asked  pardon 
of  the  French  embassador  at  Solothurn.  But,  as  he  did  not 
thereby  obtain  his  son's  release,  he  sought  fresh  vengeance. 
And  he  lay  in  wait  for  the  duke  of  Vendome,  grand 
prior  of  France,  as  he  was  passing  through  Sargansland, 
took  him  prisoner  and  carried  him  to  the  Austrians  at 
Feldkirch.  The  government  of  the  Grison  republic  peti- 
tioned both  France  and  Austria,  to  obtain  the  simultaneous 
release  of  the  innocent  prisoners;  but  without  success. 
The  foreign  embassadors  rather  embittered  fhe  quarrel. 
It  was  in  consequence  of  this  dispute  that  the  English  em- 
bassador, who  sided  with  the  Austrians,  was  assassinated 
at  the  baths  of  Pfeffers;  that  the  league  of  the  Ten-juris- 
dictions took  part  for  Thomas  Massner,  and  a  majority  of 
the  corporations  of  Coire  appointed  him  bailiff  of  Mai  en  - 
feld ;  that  the  Confederate  cantons  outlawed  this  same  man, 
as  a  violater  of  the  rights  of  nations,  and  set  a  price  of  two 
hundred  crowns  on  his  head ;  that,  finally,  the  Grisons 
themselves,  in  a  criminal  court  held  at  Ilanz  (17th  Aug., 
1711),  deprived  him  of  civil  rights,  confiscated  his  property, 
condemned  him  to  an  ignominious  death,  and  offered  a 
thousand  ducats  as  a  reward  to  any  one  who  would  deliver 
him  up. 

To  prevent  greater  misfortunes,  Thomas  Massner  had 
already  obtained  the  release  of  the  duke  of  Vendome,  and 
had  himself  fled  to  the  protection  of  the  emperor  at  Vienna. 
Here  he  lived  for  a  long  while,  an  exile ;  while  his  un- 
happy son  languished,  a  prisoner,  in  a  French  fortress,  and 
his  deserted  wife,  a  widow,  in  the  Rhetian  mountains. 
And,  as  his  life  was  heavy,  far  from  his  home,  he  one  day 
undertook  to  return.  He  could  also  perceive  that  the  em- 
peror's favor  diminished  daily.  The  favor  of  the  people 
and  of  great  lords  is  like  April  weather  and  thin  vapor. 

In  his  own  country  the  sentence  of  the  criminal  court 
of  Ilanz  and  the  outlawry  of  the  Confederacy  still  hung 
over  his  head.  He  wandered  among  the  Alps  of  Glarus. 
He  was  betrayed,  and,  by  order  of  the  French  embassador, 
pursued.  One  day,  when  he  was  trying  to  escape  from  his 
pursuers  and  had  regained  the  Austrian  territory  on  the 


208  WAR  NOT  THE 

right  bank  of  the  Rhine,  his  wagon  was  upset.  Old  Mass- 
ner  died  of  the  fall. 

When  afterwards  (1714)  peace  was  negotiated  at  Baden 
between  France  and  Austria,  a  nephew  of  Thomas  Massner 
was  among  the  emperor's  plenipotentiaries.  By  his 
cousin's  intercession,  young  Massner  was  finally  freed  from 
imprisonment,  after  long  negotiations  with  the  French. 
And  when  he  returned  home  after  so  many  years,  he  was 
received  by  his  people  with  joy,  as  a  triumphant  martyr, 
and  repaid  for  his  sufferings  by  honors  and  dignities. 

Thus  did  foreign  embassadors  trifle  with  the  Swiss  upon 
Swiss  soil,  after  having  divided  them  by  courtier-like 
artifices. 


CHAPTER    XLYII. 

DISTURBANCES   IN   ZURICH,    BCHAFFHAUSEN   AND   THE    BISHOPRIC 
OF    BALE. 

[A,  D.  1T14  to  1740.] 

IT  has  often  been  said  :  "  War  is  the  greatest  of  the  evils 
of  life."  But  so  said  not  the  ancient  heroic  Confederates, 
who  first  glorified  the  name  of  Swiss  before  God  and  man. 
They  marched  to  battle  for  their  holy  right;  they  knew 
that  there  was  something  better  than  comfort  and  effemi- 
nate ease,  and  they  thought :  "  The  greatest  of  the  evils 
of  life  is  slavery  under  the  sceptre  of  pride  and  injustice." 

And  it  is  a  fact  that  from  the  time  of  the  last  battle  of 
Villmergen  until  the  destructive  invasion  of  the  French, 
though  less  than  a  century  and  in  the  midst  of  peace, 
Switzerland  suffered  greater  calamities  than  in  all  her  pre- 
vious wars  with  Austria  and  Burgundy.  For,  while  rust 
corroded  the  swords  of  the  Winkelrieds,  the  Fontanas,  the 
Waldmanns,  the  Hallwyls,  the  Erlachs,  contemptible  self- 
ishness and  poisonous  luxury  corroded  still  more  com- 
pletely the  glorious  bond  of  the  ancients,  and  the  Confed- 
eracy became  decomposed  like  a  putrefying  corpse.  And 
the  children  bedecked  the  corpse  with  the  glittering  tro- 


-1740.]  GREATEST  OF  EVILS.  209 

phies  o£  their  fathers,  that  no  one  might  know  the  soul  had 
departed  from  it. 

Nothing  great  was  done.  Greatness  seemed  to  all,  or  to 
most,  to  consist  in  acquiring  riches,  not  virtues ;  in  being 
lords  and  subjects,  not  free  citizens.  Some  purchased  the 
office  of  bailiff,  and  sold  justice  and  injustice,  like  common 
wares.  Some  begged  for  pensions,  orders  and  titles  from 
foreign  courts.  Some  sought  to  obtain  places  in  the  ma- 
gistrature,  not  by  services  to  their  country  but  by  marriage 
with  the  daughters  of  council-lords.  Others  sought  other 
advantages;  few,  laudable  occupations.  The  people  of  the 
subject-districts  had  barely  more  rights  than  that  of  sharing 
with  their  cattle  the  labors  of  the  field,  and  the  govern- 
ments were  so  blind  that  they  feared  the  enlightenment  of 
the  country-people.  The  sovereign  cities  and  cantons  un- 
dermined the  liberties  of  the  subjects ;  the  ruling  families 
in  the  cities,  those  of  the  burghers.  From  time  to  time, 
those  whose  rights  were  encroached  upon,  awoke  from 
their  slumber,  armed  themselves  with  courage,  recovered 
their  rights,  or  at  least  prevented  further  encroachments. 
But  all  these  petty  disputes  do  not  deserve  the  attention 
of  posterity ;  in  their  time  they  hardly  excited  that  of  the 
other  Confederates. 

In  Zurich,  where  the  citizens  had  always  preserved  a 
free  spirit,  a  trifling  question  between  two  trades  unexpect- 
edly caused  the  reformation  of  several  abuses  in  the  com- 
monwealth. Two  parchment-makers  accused  a  currier 
with  encroaching  on  their  trade  (October,  1712).  This 
personal  dispute  soon  extended  to  the  two  trades  and  then 
to  all  the  citizens.  The  ordinances  and  prerogatives  of  the 
industrial  corporations  were  examined  and  regulated,  the 
legislative  functions  of  the  citizens  determined,  the  statutes 
of  the  ancient  constitutional  compact  revised  to  accord 
with  the  spirit  of  the  times,  and  all  these  useful  reforms 
embodied  in  a  new  fundamental  law,  which  was  approved 
and  sworn  to  by  the  citizens  (17th  Dec.,  1713). 

The  burghers  of  the  city  of  Schaffhausen  had  already, 
after  a  long  struggle,  obtained  the  same  advantages  by  a 
revision  and  amelioration  of  their  constitution  (1689).  For 
at  Schaffhausen  the  little  council  had  insensibly  usurped 

V 


210  THE   WILCHINGENERS.  [1714- 

arbitrarj  power,  first  by  specious  goodness  and  fraud, 
which  had  been  successful  through  the  inattention  of  the 
corporations,  and  then  by  the  bold  abuse  of  authority. 
The  rights  of  the  citizens  had  been  disregarded,  and  the 
state-property  managed  wilfully  and  selfishly.  This  is 
always  the  case  when  those  who  administer  the  law  hold 
themselves  above  the  law,  and  think  that  their  will  is  to 
take  the  place  of  law. 

But  though  the  abuses  of  arbitrary  power  were  put  an 
end  to  within  the  walls  of  the  city  of  Schaffhausen,  this 
was  not  by  any  means  the  case  as  regarded  the  rights  of 
the  country-people.  Hence,  when  the  government  once 
established  a  new  excise  in  the  village  of  Wilchingen 
(1717),  the  village  refused  to  submit,  and,  when  the  gov- 
ernment recognized  its  error  and  removed  the  excise, 
brought  forward  other  complaints,  also  well  founded. 
Foreign  lords  and  powers,  as  usual,  did  not  neglect  this 
opportunity  to  meddle  in  a  petty  domestic  difficulty ;  pre- 
texts were  never  wanting.  Thus  the  people  of  Wilchin- 
gen were  induced  to  refuse  the  usual  homage,  though 
Schaffhausen  sent  troops  and  offered  a  ready  hearing  of 
all  their  complaints,  because  the  deputies  of  the  village  were 
encouraged  by  flattering  promises  from  the  imperial  court 
at  Vienna.  But,  afterwards,  when  Austria  feared  a  rup- 
ture with  France  on  more  important  questions,  and  wished 
to  secure  the  good  will  of  the  Confederacy,  the  Wilchin- 
geners  were  dismissed  from  Vienna  (1726).  Many  of  the 
rebels  were  punished  by  confiscation  of  their  property; 
others  were  banished.  Wearied  by  this  dispute  of  many 
years,  the  village  rendered  the  long  refused  homage 
(1729). 

Wilfulness  always  occasions  disasters ;  and  the  war  of  a 
government  against  its  own  subjects,  even  when  success- 
ful, confers  but  small  glory.  Such  was  the  experience  of 
the  bishop  of  Bale  also,  at  this  period. 

He  was  lord  of  a  fine  territory,  stretching  from  the  lake 
of  Bienne  to  the  city  of  Bale,  through  the  valleys  of  the 
Jura,  with  many  cities,  castles  and  towns.  Therein  were 
the  cities  of  Bienne  and  Neustadt,  Pruntrut,  Delsperg,  St. 
Ursits  and  Lauffen,  as  well  as  Erguel  or  St.  Immerthal, 


-1740.]  BANNERET  WTSARD.  211 

the  Freiberg,  and  the  signiories  of  Esch,  Birseck  and 
Zwingen. 

When  John  Conrad  of  Reinach  became  prince-bishop 
(1705)  and  received  the  homage  of  the  country,  the  ban- 
neret of  the  peasants,  Wisard,  in  the  name  of  the  people, 
made  a  reservation  of  their  chartered  franchises  and  of 
their  defensive  treaty  with  Berne.  The  bishop  would  ac- 
knowledge nothing  of  the  kind,  required  an  oath  without 
reservation,  deprived  the  banneret  of  his  dignities  and 
offices,  and  thought  that,  where  might  was  there  also  was 
right.  So  thought  not  the  Munsterthalers.  The  banneret 
went  to  Berne,  reminded  the  city  of  her  anciently-granted 
protectorate  and  demanded  assistance.  Berne  acknowl- 
edged the  justice  of  the  claim ;  and,  as  the  bishop  persisted 
in  his  wilfulness  and  continued  to  make  innovations  and 
to  harass  those  who  opposed  him,  she  sent  a  thousand  men 
to  the  borders  for  their  protection,  jgstored  to  the  coun- 
try its  former  privileges  and  to  the  banneret  his  office. 
Thereat  the  bishop  was  much  incensed.  He  called  on  the 
catholic  cantons,  and  they  thought  to  interfere  with  the  aid 
of  France.  But  Berne  relied  on  the  support  of  the  evan- 
gelical cantons  and  of  England.  When  the  bishop  saw 
that  he  could  -do  nothing,  he  made  a  friendly  settlement 
with  Berne  (30th  March,  1706)  and  confirmed  the  Mun- 
sterthalers in  their  rights.  But  he  did  this  with  unwilling 
heart  and  occasioned  them  vexation  after  vexation,  espe- 
cially about  the  reformed  worship  in  the  country.  Berne 
once  more  clashed  her  arms  (1711).  The  first  threat  was 
sufficient. 

Then  the  bishop  again  confirmed  the  franchises  of  the 
Munsterthalers,  at  Aarberg,  and  consented  to  the  bitter 
condition  that,  in  case  of  any  future  complaint,  if  he  did 
not  satisfactorily  reply,  within  three  months,  to  the  second 
and  third  summons  of  Berne,  he  should  forfeit  the  sum  of 
20,000  crowns,  for  which  the  prevostship  of  Munster  was 
pledged.  Although  pope  Clement  XL  at  Kome  was  very 
indignant  at  this  stipulation,  by  which  heretics  acquired  a 
great  advantage  over  catholics,  the  treaty  was  thencefor- 
ward respected. 

Frequently  afterwards  the  bishops  of  Bale  attempted  to 


212  BURGOMASTER   CELIER. 

increase  their  sovereign  power  by  arbitrary  decisions  and 
acts  of  violence.  When  the  council  of  the  city  of  Neustadt 
on  the  lake  of  Bienne  banished  a  burgher  of  that  city 
(1711)  and  his  relatives  appealed  to  the  bishop  against  the 
council,  the  prince  attempted,  without  right,  to  compel  the 
council  to  revoke  its  sentence  and  to  pay  the  costs  of  the 
suit.  He  arbitrarily  deposed  the  burgomaster  and  five 
members  of  the  council  who  would  not  submit,  punished 
them  bj  fines,  outlawed  them,  pronounced  sentence  of 
death  on  burgomaster  Celier,  who  had  fled  (1714),  and 
broke  up  the  whole  council.  Berne  finally  interfered,  re- 
stored quiet  in  concert  with  the  bishop,  and  secured  the 
infringed  freedom  of  the  city. 

The  bishop  treated  the  city  of  Pruntrut  also  with  the 
same  harshness.  This  city  held  from  the  old  emperors 
and  lords  many  important  franchises  which  had  always 
been  confirmed  by  Jhe  bishops.  But  when  lord  Jacob 
Sigismund  of  Eeinacn  sat  in  the  bishop's  chair,  he  en- 
croached in  many  ways  on  the  municipal  rights.  Influ- 
enced by  the  advice  of  his  civil  officer,  the  signior  of  Ram- 
schwag,  he  would  listen  to  no  complaints,  but  treated  the 
district  assemblies  and  their  delegates  as  rebels.  Then 
Pruntrut  rose  in  defence  of  her  established  franchises.  The 
bishop  called  on  the  catholic  cantons  for  assistance.  But 
their  deputies,  when  they  had  carefully  examined  the 
whole  matter,  like  honest  men,  said  to  the  prince  (1734): 
"If  princely  prerogatives  are  to  be  maintained,  the  fran- 
chises of  the  subjects  must  also  be  respected."  This  quar- 
rel remained  unsettled  for  seven  years.  The  hearts  of  the 
people  were  embittered  against  their  signior.  And  when 
he,  angry  with  the  Confederates,  finally  introduced  French 
troops  into  his  territory  (1741)  and  arbitrarily  punished 
his  subjects  in  property,  honor  and  life,  they  bowed  in  si- 
lence beneath  the  yoke.  But  they  awaited  the  hour  for 
vengeance,  and  it  struck  at  last. 


-1740.]  CHARTER   OF   FRANCHISES.  213 


CHAPTER   XL VIII. 

INSURRECTION    OF    THE    WERDENBERGERS    AGAINST    GLARUS. 
[A  D.  1714  to  1T40.] 

ABOUT  the  same  time  there  was  much  trouble  and  dis- 
tress in  the  little  district  of  Werdenberg.  After  Glarus 
bought  this  country  in  1517  from  the  barons  of  lEeuwen, 
it  was  peacefully  governed  by  bailiffs,  who  were  replaced 
every  three  years.  The  Werdenbergers  had,  indeed, 
viewed  with  dissatisfaction  their  subjection  to  the  Confed- 
eracy, because  they  thereby  lost  all  hope  of  purchasing  or 
otherwise  obtaining  their  freedom.  Already,  in  1525,  they 
had  once  been  in  full  insurrection  against  their  new  mas- 
ters, but  since  then  quiet  had  been  undisturbed.  The  four 
thousand  inhabitants  of  the  three  parishes  possessed  very 
excellent  alps  in  the  Toggenburg  mountains,  fine  lands 
and  orchards  in  the  valleys,  and  gloried  in  many  fran- 
chises. They  preserved,  as  a  sacred  treasure,  the  charter 
of  these  franchises,  according  to  which  the  governing  bai- 
liff had  no  right  to  interfere  in  their  communal  affairs  or 
to  derive  any  benefit  from  the  common  pastures  and 
woods.  The  bailiffs  did  not  always  respect  these  fran- 
chises, but  assumed  the  management  of  the  communal 
property,  woods  and  alps ;  increased  the  fines  on  the  sale 
of  mountain  lands ;  exercised  arbitrary  power  respecting 
the  right  to  the  best  chattels,  the  choice  of  officers  and 
other  things.  This  made  bad  blood  among  the  people, 
and  they  appealed  to  the  guarantee  of  their  sealed  charter. 

But  one  day  (1705)  when  the  fifteen  parishes  of  the  free 
land  of  Glarus  were  met  in  general  assembly  before  their 
chief  magistrates,  some  said :  "  The  charter  was  granted 
by  the  council  without  assent  of  the  parishes,  and  is  there- 
fore invalid  as  well  as  derogatory  to  their  sovereign  rights." 
Then  the  assembly  decided  that  the  charter  must  be  pro- 
duced for  examination. 

Werdenberg  unwillingly  surrendered  her  treasure  to 
the  bailiff,  Caspar  Trumpi,  for  inspection  and  never  re- 


214  HOMAGE   REFUSED.  [1714- 

ceived  it  back  again.  As  the  country  made  bitter  but 
always  respectful  complaints  concerning  the  abstracted 
charter,  a  triple  council,  assembled  at  Glarus,  promised 
that  all  the  rights  possessed  by  the  Werdenbergers  from 
the  earliest  times  should  be  recognized  in  a  single  docu- 
ment, to  be  deposited  with  them.  But  they,  distrustful  on 
account  of  what  had  already  occurred,  demanded  the  orig- 
inal charter  as  their  property  ;  and  then,  after  fifteen  years 
of  useless  complaint,  refused  the  usual  homage  to  the  new 
bailiff  (1719).  The  charter  was  promised  to  them,  if  they 
would  do  homage,  and  the  landammann  of  Glarus  said  to 
the  people  assembled  in  the  church  of  Grabs:  "I  am  an 
old  man  with  one  foot  already  in  the  grave ;  I  hope  the 
other  may  follow,  if  the  promise  be  not  kept !"  But  the 
confidence  of  the  people,  so  often  deceived,  was  not  re- 
stored. 

Concerned  at  this,  Glarus  had  recourse  to  the  Vorort  and 
to  the  Confederates  assembled  in  Diet  at  Frauenfeld.  Wer- 
denberg,  also,  did  the  same.  The  delegates  of  the  county 
were  sent  away  unheard,  with  orders  to  submit  to  their 
government  and  to  render  the  homage.  They  obeyed 
(July,  1720)  but  without  desisting  from  their  claims.  Then 
Glarus  sent  for  the  delegates  of  Werdenberg  to  come  and 
examine  the  documents  and  negotiate  about  the  charter, 
under  a  safe-conduct  to  which  her  honor  was  pledged  by 
oath.  When  they  arrived,  they  were  subjected  to  threats 
of  violence,  because  they  would  not  yield  in  their  demands, 
and  thrown  into  prison,  where  one  of  the  firmest  died  sud- 
denly. The  Werdenbergers  were  the  more  afflicted  be- 
cause they  saw  that  the  rights  of  subjects  and  the  rights  of 
governments  were  not  held  equally  holy  by  the  Confede- 
rates. And  forty  men  of  the  three  parishes  swore  together 
to  sacrifice  property  and  life  rather  than  the  franchises  of 
their  country.  The  agitation  continued.  The  people  be- 
came excited.  The  bailiff  from  Glarus  was  more  like  a 
prisoner  than  a  governor,  in  his  castle.  He  introduced 
seventy-five  armed  men  from  Glarus  into  it,  as  a  garrison, 
in  the  dead  of  night. 

When  the  people  heard  this,  they  rang  the  alarm-bells, 
and  crowds  rushed  in  tumult  from  the  communes  to  attack 


-1740.]  SUBMISSION   OF  THE   PEOPLE.  215 

the  castle ;  they  were  without  discipline  and  without  ex- 
perienced officers.  As  soon  as  the  heavy  artillery  thun- 
dered against  them  from  the  walls  of  the  castle,  they  were 
all  terrified  and  took  to  flight  (21  Oct.,  1721).  Five  days 
afterwards  appeared  the  general  of  Glarus,  Bartholemt'o 
Paravicini,  with  two  thousand  men.  Deputies  also  came 
from  the  vorort  Zurich. 

Then  the  Werdenbergers  saw  that  their  cause  was  lost, 
and,  persuaded  more  by  the  sight  of  the  superior  force 
than  by  the  eloquence  of  the  envoys  from  Zurich,  they 
brought  their  arms  to  the  castle  and  gave  them  up.  Then 
Glarus,  advised  by  Berne  and  Zurich  to  treat  with  lenity 
the  error  of  the  misguided  people,  withdrew  her  troops  on 
the  very  day  the  arms  were  surrendered,  and  marched 
them  back  to  Azmoos,  through  storm  and  rain. 

But  an  ignorant  people  think  neither  of  the  past  nor  of 
the  future,  and,  when  a  danger  has  passed,  become  as  bold 
as  they  were  before  faint-hearted  at  its  prospect.  Not  one 
of  the  insurgents  appeared  at  the  castle  to  answer,  as  they 
had  all  agreed  to  do.  Each  played  the  hero  anew ;  they 
held  open  general  assemblies,  swore  to  maintain  their 
rights,  and  built  a  bridge  over  the  Rhine  to  have  a  way  for 
escape  in  the  last  extremity. 

As  soon  as  the  troops  of  Glarus  entered  a  second  time 
into  the  revolted  district,  the  unarmed  crowd  of  inhabitants 
fled  over  the  Rhine,  persuaded  that  poverty  and  exile  were 
better  than  home  with  extinguished  franchises.  But  it  was 
winter;  and  the  moans  of  the  children,  half  dead  with  cold, 
and  the  bitter  lamentations  of  the  women  broke  the  spirit 
of  the  rnen.  They  sent  messengers  to  the  castle  of  Wer- 
denberg  and  sued  for  mercy,  and,  after  a  few  days,  resigned 
to  every  fate,  wandered  back  to  their  deserted  cabins.  A 
few,  only,  preferred  voluntary  exile  to  the  serfdom  to  which 
the  rest  submitted  by  oath  (31  Dec.,  1721). 

Now  Glarus  passed  sentence  on  the  insurgents.  The 
names  of  Leinhard  Bensch  of  Rasis,  of  Hans  Bensch,  Jacob 
Vorburger,  Hans  Rauw  and  Hans  Senn,  who  had  spoken( 
for  the  people,  were  nailed  to  the  gallows.  Fines  and  con? 
fiscatious,  of  more  than  70,000  florins,  deprivations  of  civil 
rights  and  banishment  punished  those  who  had  shared  in 


216  RESTORATION  OF  FRANCHISES.  [1714- 

the  insurrection.  But  no  one  was  deprived  of  life.  The 
blood  which,  in  civil  troubles,  flows  from  the  scaffold  upon 
a  free  soil,  falls  as  the  seed  of  curses  and  vengeance,  which 
future  generations  must  often  reap  in  terror. 

Glarus,  it  is  true,  destroyed  all  the  Werdenberger's  claims 
to  freedom ;  but,  a  few  years  later,  the  shepherd-people  on 
the  Linth,  impelled  by  a  generous  feeling,  relieved  their 
subjects  from  many  of  the  ancient  burdens,  by  wisely  re- 
stricting the  power  of  the  bailiffs ;  finally  restored  to  the 
Werdenbergers  their  arms  and  honors,  and  never  had  rea- 
son to  regret  this  generosity. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

PARTY-BAQE    AND    DISTURBANCES    IN   ZUG.        POWER     AND     MISFOR- 
TUNES   OF    LANDAMMANN    SCHUMACHER. 

[A.  D.  1T14  to  1740.] 

AT  the  period  when  peace  was  restored  to  Glarus,  it  was 
driven  away  from  the  canton  of  Zug  by  party-rage. 

On  the  shore  of  a  beautiful  lake  among  the  mountains 
lies  the  little  city  of  Zug,  not  very  secure  on  the  soft  bank, 
which  has  already  twice  (1435  and  1594)  given  way  in 
.parts  and  carried  houses  and  gardens  into  the  flood.  The 
small  district  dependent  on  the  city  was  early  (1350  to  1484) 
bought  from  various  knights  and  convents  by  savings  of 
the  municipal  income,  and  governed  by  bailiffs.  And  the 
bailiwick  of  Hunenberg,  which  had  ransomed  itself  from 
its  lords  (1414),  voluntarily  acknowledged  the  sovereignty 
of  Zug,  under  reservation  of  its  franchises.  In  the  city  it- 
self all  the  burghers  had  equal  rights.  Some  noble  fami- 
lies, however,  who  had  lived  there  from  very  ancient  times, 
generally  secured  the  first  offices  to  themselves,  either  as 
heirs  of  great  riches  or  of  great  names,  by  their  merit  or 
the  influence  of  party,  They  often  occasioned  serious  dis- 
turbances, sometimes  among  the  citizens,  sometimes  by 
their  rivalryf  sometimes  by  gelling  their  own  and  their 


-1740.]  FIDELIS  ZURLAUBEN.  217 

country's  services  to  foreign  powers  for  gold  and  titles. 

The  free  communes  of  Aegeri,  Menzingen  and  Baar, 
under  their  own  constitutions  and  laws,  independent  of 
the  city,  formed  with  it  the  whole  canton.  The  ammann, 
or  chief  of  the  republic,  was  chosen  alternately  from  these 
four  districts.  The  few  prerogatives  which  the  city  enjoyed, 
and  sometimes  abused,  served  only  to  excite  jealousy  and 
hate  in  the  country  against  the  city.  Not  a  century  passed 
without  tumultuous,  sometimes  bloody,  quarrels  between 
the  two.  Once  (1702)  it  even  went  so  far  that  Aegeri, 
Menzingen  and  Baar  were  on  the  point  of  separating  from 
the  city  of  Zug,  and  forming  a  canton  apart,  had  they  not 
been  prevented  by  the  Confederates. 

The  Zurlaubens,  barons  of  Thurm  and  Gestelenburg, 
were  among  the  richest  families  of  the  land.  For  two 
hundred  years,  they  had  almost  always  been  in  possession 
of  the  highest  state-offices,  and  in  the  favor  and  party  of 
the  French  king,  who  extended  to  them  the  distribution 
of  the  French  pensions,  whether  gratuitous  or  stipulated 
by  treaty,  and  the  office  of  purchasing  adherents  and  votes 
for  France.  They  had  obtained  from  the  city  and  com- 
munal councils  the  lucrative  privilege  of  the  government 
trade  in  salt,  of  which  they  annually  imported  six  hundred 
casks  from  Upper  Burgundy.  The  opponents  of  the  Zur- 
laubens were  looked  upon  as  opponents  of  France  and, 
consequently,  as  partisans  of  Austria. 

Among  these  was  Anthony  Schumacher,  member  of  the 
council,  a  talented  but  violent  man,  who  carried  on  a  trade 
in  the  salt  of  Hall  (a  small  Tyrolean  town  on  the  Inn,  where 
are  salt  mines).  He  and  other  opponents  of  the  ammann 
Fidelis  Zurlauben  complained,  not  without  good  reason,  of 
the  quality  of  the  Burgundian  salt;  then  questioned  the 
faithful  management  of  that  business,  and  finally  found 
fault  with  the  partisan  distribution  of  the  French  pensions 
and  gratuities.  At  that  time  foreign  powers  freely  distrib- 
uted presents  in  money  to  those  Swiss  whose  venal  fidelity 
had  been  proved,  and  by  such  gifts  enlisted  and  purchased^ 
fresh  hirelings  and  dependants.  The  communes  of  Baar 
and  Menzingen  countenanced  these  complaints  and  said : 
"  The  money  should  be  equally  divided  among  all  the  cit- 
10  T 


218  THE  HARTEK  AND  LINPEir.  [1714- 

izens.  Is  not  each  of  us,  the  least  as  well  as  the  greatest, 
an  ally  of  the  king  ?"  When  ammann  Fidelis  heard  this, 
he  distributed  money  and  presents  to  a  great  many  people, 
and  kept  open  tables  at  the  eating-houses,  in  order  to  se- 
cure to  himself  friends  and  partisans  against  the  Harten 
(Hards)  as  his  opponents  were  called. 

But  when  Josias  Schicker  of  Baar,  an  enemy  of  Zurlau- 
ben,  and  one  of  the  Harten,  was  ammann  of  the  canton 
(1728)  it  was  decided  that  there  should  be  an  equal  distri- 
bution of  the  French  gratuities  and  stipulated  pensions, 
And,  as  France  would  not  consent  to  this,  the  Harten  be- 
came angry  and  persecuted  the  partisans  of  the  French 
king,  who  were  called  Linden  (Softs).  They  were  mal- 
treated, and  their  places  given  to  the  partisans  of  Austria. 
Ammann  Fidelis,  accused  of  malpractice  in  appointments 
to  civil  and  ecclesiastical  offices  and  of  having  taken  ex- 
cessive profit  and  usury,  was  condemned  to  restore  his 
wrongly -acquired  gains,  and,  when  he  fled  to  Lucerne,  his 

Property  was  confiscated  and  himself  banished  for  one  hun- 
red  and  one  years.  He  never  saw  his  home  again.  Others 
of  the  Linden  fled  like  him,  and,  like  him,  were  punished. 
Even  the  ammanns  Weber  and  Christopher  Andermatt 
shared  this  fate,  because  they  had  once  (1715)  atSolothurn, 
in  the  name  of  Zug,  signed  a  treaty  with  France,  in  which 
report  said  there  was  a  secret  article  respecting  the  divi- 
sion of  Switzerland  among  foreign  powers. 

When  the  general  assembly,  two  years  afterwards  (1731), 
conferred  the  dignity  of  ammann  upon  Anthony  Schu- 
macher, the  alliance  with  the  king  of  France,  who  had 
sent  neither  pensions  nor  presents,  was  broken.  Only  one 
man,  the  council-lord  Beat  Caspar  Utiger,  was  bold  enough 
to  warn  the  people  of  the  dangers  of  such  a  proceeding : 
but  he  had  to  fly  in  haste  from  the  country  in  order  ta  save 
his  life. 

i  Ammann  Schumacher  now  established  a  new  tribunal 
composed  of  nine  of  his  most  devoted  adherents,  which 
was  invested  with  the  greatest  powers  by  the  sovereign 
people.  Fresh  prosecutions  were  begun  against  the  parti- 
sans of  France.  The  prisons  were  filled  with  them.  If 
any  one  escaped  chains  by  flight,  his  name  and  effigy  were 


-1740.]  JOHN   PETER  STAUB.  219 

hung  on  the  gallows.  "Whoever  pitied  the  banished  or 
blamed  the  Harten,  was  compelled  to  stand  in  the  pillory, 
or,  for  a  whole  year,  to  wear  a  red  knit  cap,  the  object  of 
public  derision.  Schumacher  even  endeavored  to  detach 
uri,  Schwyz  and  Unterwalden  from  the  French  alliance. 
He  did  all  this,  perhaps  with  the  upright  intention  to  free 
his  country  from  the  influence  of  foreign  gold  and  foreign 
intrigues,  perhaps  with  the  hope  that  France  would  con- 
sent to  the  equal  distribution  of  the  gratuities  and  stipu- 
lated pensions  and  thus  the  credit  of  the  Zurlaubens  be 
destroyed. 

Two  years  long  continued  these  doings  of  the  well-inten- 
tioned but  violent  ammann.  But  many  of  the  Harten, 
when  they  saw  that  their  expectations  were  not  realized, 
were  softened  and  longed  for  quiet  and  their  old  friends. 
At  this  unexpected  inconstancy  of  the  people,  Schumacher 
adopted  unusual  measures  to  prevent  any  union  between 
the  inhabitants  and  the  exiles  and  any  revolt  against  his 
authority.  The  communes  were  compelled  to  arm,  to  send 
captains  into  all  the  bailiwicks ;  Baar  and  Menziugen  to 
establish  special  guards.  The  gates  of  the  city  of  Zug 
were  repaired ;  closed  early  and  opened  late.  This  occa- 
sioned astonishment,  as  no  enemy  was  seen ;  and  gave  rise 
to  murmurs  at  the  expense. 

When  Schumacher's  term  of  office  expired,  John  Peter 
Staub  was  chosen  ammann  in  his  stead,  and  as  none  of 
Schumacher's  promises  to  the  people  had  been  fulfilled, 
the  Lindens  increased  greatly  in  favor.  The  new  ammann 
"  himself  took  part  with  them,  and  followed  the  rushing 
torrent.  Hence,  when  Schumacher,  after  several  months, 
gave  in  his  accounts  of  the  state-money,  and  was  found  to 
have  had  considerable  sums  in  hand  without  knowledge  or 
permission  of  the  council,  he  was  dragged  from  the  coun- 
cil-chamber and  thrown  into  prison  with  his  friends  and 
followers. 

As  soon  as  this  was  known  in  the  land,  the  Harten  were 
everywhere  deposed  from  office,  and  complaints  upon  com- 

Elaints  were  made  against  their  severe  government;  the 
anished  were  recalled  from  exile  and  received  in  all  the 
cabins  with  tears  of  joy.     Anthony  Schumacher,  the  vie- 


220  DEATH  OF  SCHUMACHER.  [1714- 

tim  of  party-hate  rather  than  of  justice,  was  led  ignomi- 
niously  to  the  gallows  (9th  March,  1735),  where  hung  the 
names  and  effigies  of  the  exiles.  The  executioner  took 
them  down.  The  humbled  ammann  was  compelled  to 
carry  them  on  his  back  to  the  council-house.  He  asked 
only  for  life.  On  ten  serious  accusations,  the  judges  con- 
demned him  to  perpetual  banishment  from  the  Confederacy 
and  to  three  years  of  the  galleys.  But  the  people,  who 
had  before  prized  him  so  highly,  demanded  his  blood. 
For  fear  of  a  riot,  he  was  brought  to  the  lake-shore,  with 
irons  on  his  hands  and  feet,  before  break  of  day  in  the 
morning  of  18th  May,  1735.  There  his  daughter  shed 
upon  his  neck  the  tears  of  an  everlasting  farewell.  The 
crowd  stood  by  in  silence  and  saw  him,  surrounded  by  a 
strong  guard,  enter  the  boat  which  was  to  bear  him  from 
a  land,  every  league  of  which  had  for  him  only  tears  or 
curses.  Popular  favor  is  a  false  harlot;  she  repays  her 
lovers'  faith  with  affliction.  Seven  weeks  after  his  expa- 
triation, death  freed  him,  in  the  prison  of  Turin,  from  the 
miseries  of  the  Sardinian  galleys. 

But  the  old  troubles  were  not  banished  from  the  land 
with  him ;  dissension  and  discontent  lasted  many  years. 
When  Zug  renewed  her  alliance  with  France,  the  latter 
immediately  sent  presents  to  her  adherents.  But  when 
the  people  learned  this,  a  fresh  storm  burst  forth  (1746) ; 
those  who  had  received  the  money  were  compelled  to  pay 
it  into  the  treasury,  and  were,  moreover,  punished  by 
heavy  fines  and  banishment.  Another  outbreak  was  with 
difficulty  prevented  by  the  Confederates  in  1768,  and  by 
their  mediation,  France  was  induced  to  furnish  the  people 
with  Burgundian  salt,  as  before,  or  with  a  compensation  in 
money,  which  last,  like  the  stipulated  pensions,  was  to  be 
equally  divided  among  all  the  burghers  in  city  and  coun- 
try. 


-1740.]  THE  ZELLWEGERS.  221 


CHAPTER  L. 

QUARREL   OF    THE    HARTEN   AND    LINDEN    IN    THE    OUTER  RHODES  OF 
APPENZELL.  * 

[A.  D.  1714  to  1740.] 

IT  is  very  unfortunate  when  magistrates  forget  that  they 
are  but  the  servants  of  the  state,  and  wish  to  make  the 
commonwealth  serve  their  selfish  interests,  their  vengeance 
or  their  pride.  This  had  occasioned  great  trouble  in  the 
canton  of  Zug,  and  about  the  same  time  almost  produced 
a  civil  war  in  that  of  Appenzell. 

Since  the  twelve  old  Rhodes  or  districts  of  Appenzell 
had  separated  in  consequence  of  difference  in  faith,  so  that 
the  Inner  Rhodes  at  the  foot  of  the  high  mountains  re- 
mained catholic,  and  the  Outer,  on  both  banks  of  the  Sit- 
ter, reformed,  they  had  indeed  counted  in  the  Confederacy 
as  a  single  canton,  but,  as  regarded  themselves,  they  were 
two  communities,  independent  of  each  other  in  faith,  cus- 
toms and  laws. 

The  old  borough-town  of  Appenzell  remained  the  chief 
town  of  the  Inner  Rhodes.  But  the  Outer  Rhodes,  which 
were  unequally  divided  by  the  Sitter,  had  long  disputes 
with  each  other,  sometimes  about  the  location  of  their 
chief-place,  sometimes  about  the  choice  of  magistrates. 
The  people  east  of  the  Sitter  were  more  numerous  than 
those  on  the  west,  and  were  jealous  of  their  rights.  Finally, 
each  portion  chose  its  own  magistrates,  and  Trogen  be- 
came the  chief  place  of  the  former,  Herisau  that  of  the 
latter.  The  jealousy  on  both  sides  was  not  thereby  dimi- 
nished, but  rather  increased. 

At  Trogen  lived  the  influential  family  of  the  Zellwe- 
gers,  enriched  by  commerce  and  manufactures.  In  Heri- 
sau flourished  the  family  of  the  Wetters.  One  of  the 
latter  held  the  office  of  landammann  in  the  year  that  the 
city  of  St.  Gallen  had  a  fresh  dispute  with  the  Appenzell- 
ers  respecting  tolls  (1732).  St.  Gallen  said :  "Let  the  dis- 
pute be  referred  to  two  Confederate  cantons  as  arbitrators, 

T* 


.    THE  WETTERS.  [1714- 

agreeably  to  the  83d  article  of  the  Rorschach  treaty  of 
peace,  made  after  the  Toggenburg  war." 

Landammann  Wetter  declined  and  said:  "The  treaty 
of  Rorschach  is  not  obligatory  on  our  people,  because  it  was 
not  confirmed  by  any  assembly  of  the  communes,  but  con- 
cealed from  the*i  and  signed  by  a  few  chief  men  only,  on 
their  own  responsibility.  If  they  were  still  alive  they 
would  be  punished  as  traitors  to  justice  and  liberty,  and 
for  having  given  to  the  city  of  St.  Gallen  the  power  to  in- 
crease her  tolls  at  her  option." 

Of  all  the  magistrates  of  Appenzell  who  had  witnessed 
the  treaty  at  Rorschach,  none  were  living  but  some  rela- 
tives of  the  Zellweger  family  at  Trogen.  Landammann 
Wetter  was  no  friend  to  these ;  their  riches  gave  them  too 
much  influence  in  the  country.  And  he  said  :  "  They  had 
acted  interestedly  and  on  some  secret  understanding  with 
St.  Gallen  to  the  detriment  of  their  own  country." 

Thereupon  the  Zellwegers  retorted :  "  Were  not  the 
chief  men  from  both  sides  of  the  Sitter  present  at  the 
treaty  of  Rorschach  ?  Did  not  the  principal  men  and  the 
judges  of  all  the  Rhodes  approve  it?  Has  not  the  treaty 
been  already  acted  upon  and  carried  out  in  a  previous  dis- 
pute respecting  tolls  with  St.  Gallen,  in  1720?  Why  do 
you  so  strenuously  oppose  it  now,  but  from  bad  faith  ?" 

The  people  west  of  the  Sitter  paid  no  attention  to  this, 
but  believed  landammann  Wetter  and  blamed  the  Zell- 
wegers and  their  friends  in  the  other  district.  And,  one 
day,  when  the  heads  of  all  the  rhodes  were  assembled  at 
Herisau,  the  excited  country-people,  who  were  called  Har- 
ten,  rushed  into  the  council-house  and  into  the  council- 
hall.  There,  with  great  roughness,  they  maltreated  those 
councillors  who  respected  the  treaty  of  Rorschach,  called 
them  Linden,  and  dragged  the  Zellwegers  to  the  window, 
in  order  to  throw  them  out  to  the  violent  and  raging 
mob.  Quiet  was  not  restored  until  each  council -lord  had 
cried  from  the  window:  "The  government  did  wrong 
in  not  submitting  the  treaty  of  Rorschach  to  a  general 
assembly." 

When  the  parishes  east  of  the  Sitter  heard  how  their 
chief  men  had  been  maltreated,  they  wished  to  rise  and 


-1740.]  NUMEROUS  DELEGATION.  223 

avenge  them.  But  the  Zellwegers  and  other  well-meaning 
persons  dissuaded  them,  and  induced  them  to  await  the 
corning  general  assembly. 

"When  the  people  from  these  rhodes  came  afterwards  to 
the  general  assembly  at  Teufen,  (20  November,  1732,) 
they  found  the  men  from  the  other  rhodes  armed  with  old 
swords,  and  gathered  in  unusual  numbers  around  the  chair  of 
the  landammann.  By  the  majority  of  their  votes,  these  latter 
overpowered  all  opposition,  deprived  of  offices  and  honors 
all  those  magistrates  who  favored  the  party  of  the  Linden, 
and  declared  innocent  every  one  who  had  been  condemned 
for  resistance  to  the  treaty  of  Rorschach. 

Now  bitterness  and  hate  prevailed  throughout  the  land, 
quarrels  and  disputes  between  the  Harten  and  the  Linden, 
the  partisans  of  "Wetter  and  of  the  Zellwegers.  Both 
parties  appealed  to  the  reformed  Confederates.  While  the 
latter,  as  usual,  sat  irresolutely  in  diet  at  Frauenfeld 
(January,  1733),  the  people  of  the  rhodes  became  so  ex- 
cited that  the  men  seized  their  arms,  and  the  women  and 
children  fled  from  Trogen  to  the  neighboring  Eheinthal. 
Thereupon  a  deputation  from  the  Diet  hastened  to  Herisau 
to  restore  peace.  When  Escher,  the  stadtholder  of  Zurich 
and  head  of  the  deputation,  had  with  wise  words  appeased 
the  council,  and  declared  that  the  Confederates  had  not 
the  least  intention  to  impose  conditions  displeasing  to  their 
fellow  confederates,  delegates  from  the  ten  parishes  of 
the  country  were  announced  as  desirous  to  confer  with  the 
deputies.  These  delegates  were  so  numerous  that  the 
market-place  of  Herisau  could  not  contain  them,  being 
four  or  five  thousand  men.  And  they  shouted  and 
threatened,  and  cried:  "Have  you  come  here  to  uphold 
the  traitorous  Linden,  and  to  force  a  free  people  to  observe 
an  agreement  to  which  they  never  assented.  Are  we 
slaves  or  are  we  still  free  men?" 

This  discussion  lasted  far  into  the  night.  By  the  light 
of  torches  and  lanterns,  the  confederate  deputies  were  com- 
pelled, in  a  severe  winter's  night  (19  February,  1733),  to 
go  to  a  plain  near  Herisau,  and  there  give  to  the  people  a 
written  assurance  that  the  treaty  of  Rorschach  should 
never  be  forced  upon  them.  On  the  next  day,  a  crowd 


224  COWARDLY  CONDUCT  OF  THE  [I7l4t- 

of  people  again  rushed  into  Herisau  and  required  the 
mediators  to  exhort  the  opposing  Linden  to  submit  to  the 
decree  of  the  general  assembly.  The  deputies  from  Berne 
and  Zurich  said:  "Our  cantons  are  the  originators  and 
guarantors  of  the  disputed  article  in  the  Rorschach  treaty ; 
shall  we  act  against  those  who  wish  faithfully  to  observe 
that  treaty  ?  This  people  shall  never  compel  us  to  decide 
unjustly."  But  the  other  deputies,  in  cowardly  fear  and 
anxiety,  decided  that  it  was  necessary  to  appease  the 
people.  And  the  deputation  declared  in  writing,  that  the 
Linden  must  submit  to  the  decree  of  the  general  assembly. 
The  Harten  themselves  had  not  desired  more,  so  they  dis- 
persed satisfied. 

This  conduct  of  the  Appenzellers,  this  unworthy  treat- 
ment of  the  Confederate  deputies,  justly  excited  the  indig- 
nation of  the  mediating  cantons,  especially  of  Zurich  and 
Berne.  But  the  wounds  of  the  Toggenburg  war  were 
still  too  fresh  to  permit  an  armed  interference.  The  mat- 
ter was  frequently  discussed  in  diet  at  Frauenfeld  and 
Aarau,  but  without  vigor,  consequently  without  result. 
Moreover,  the  Linden  were  thereby  encouraged  in  their 
resistance  to  the  Harten. 

The  irritation  of  both  parties  at  last  broke  forth  in  the 
town  of  Graiss,  and  the  people,  coming  to  blows,  called  on 
the  neighboring  villages  for  assistance.  They  fought  with 
clubs  and  sticks.  The  Harten  were  victorious  this  time 
also,  and  plundered  the  barns  and  cellars  of  the  Linden. 
These  latter,  breathing  vengeance,  assembled  the  next  day 
in  arms  at  Trogen  and  Speicher ;  the  forces  of  the  Harten 
rallied  under  their  banners  at  Teufen  with  artillery. 
Citizen-blood  was  about  to  flow.  But  the  government  of 
Appenzell,  supported  by  the  Confederate  mediators  who 
were  at  St.  Gal]  en,  succeeded  this  time  also,  by  firmness 
and  prudence,  in  separating  the  furious  opponents  and 
restoring  peace. 

In  the  mean  while  the  Linden  had  learned  by  these  en- 
counters that  they  were  the  weaker  party  in  the  land. 
Therefore  they  gave  up  their  cause  in  despair.  The  gen- 
eral assembly  at  Hundwyl  confirmed  the  decision  of  that 
which,  had  met  at  Teufen  the  year  before.  The  leaders 


-1740.]  CONFEDERATE  DEPUTIES.  225 

of  the  Linden  party  were  deprived  of  honors  and  offices, 
and  punished  by  heavy  fines  for  the  hopes  they  had  enter- 
tained of  the  support  of  cantons  and  diets. 


CHAPTER  LI. 

HENZl's    CONSPIRACY   AT   BKRNK. 
[A.  D.  1T40  to  1749.] 

THE  Confederates  were  silent  respecting  the  justice  or 
injustice  of  the  measures  adopted  on  the  Sitter,  because 
all  had  enough  to  do  to  keep  peace  at  home.  Every  can- 
ton had  more  or  less  trouble,  and  Berne  the  most  of  all. 

At  first  the  sovereign  power  of  the  city  of  Berne  was 
vested  in  all  the  citizens,  by  virtue  of  the  charter  granted 
to  them  by  duke  Berchthold  of  Zahringen,  under  the  em- 
peror Frederick  II.  (1218).  And  the  burghers  chose  their 
magistrates  each  year  mostly  from  the  noble  families 
established  in  the  city,  whose  riches,  leisure  and  educa- 
tion rendered  them  more  capable  than  the  common  citizens 
to  rule  a  state  with  dignity.  But  as,  in  course  of  time, 
the  nobles  became  haughty  and  ambitious  of  absolute 
power,  the  citizens,  assembled  in  the  preacher's  church 
(1384),  made  a  statement  of  their  liberties  in  a  fundamental 
law,  intended  to  prevent  all  abuses.  Thenceforward,  yearly, 
sixteen  citizens  and  four  bannerets  were  to  choose  the  two 
hundred  of  the  great  council  (as  since  1294)  from  among 
the  artisans:  they  thought  it  easier  to  find  twenty  men 
who  would  not  be  corrupted  by  the  rich  families,  than  to 
prevent  gold  and  intrigues  from  influencing  a  great  crowd. 
The  commons  reserved  to  themselves  the  passing  of  im- 
portant laws  and  the  declaration  of  war  and  peace  ;  even 
the  country-district  was  to  be  called  into  council  on  impor- 
tant matters,  as  had  formerly  been  and  was  still  for  some 
time  the  case. 

But,  by  degrees,  the  powerful  bannerets  chose  for  the 
great  council  only  their  friends  and  relatives ;  by  degrees, 
10* 


226  THE  RULING  FAMILIES. 

these  families  perpetuated  their  possession  of  the  govern- 
ment ;  the  great  council,  in  concert  with  the  bannerets  and 
the  sixteen,  renewed  itself  annually ;  by  degrees,  the  com- 
mons were  assembled  more  rarely ;  finally  not  at  all.  In 
1531,  the  first  law  was  passed  without  vote  of  the  burghers, 
and,  in  1536,  when  war  was  to  be  declared  against  Savoy, 
the  commons  were  assembled  for  the  last  time.  After  this, 
not  again.  The  sovereign  power  became  exclusively  here- 
ditary in  the  families  of  the  great  council.  All  the  citizens 
were  indeed  eligible,  nominally;  but  the  ruling  families 
were  only  a  small  number,  who  divided  all  places  and 
offices  among  themselves. 

An  unjustly  acquired  sovereignty,  however  good  and 
wise  it  may  be,  never  effaces  by  its  virtues  the  stain  of 
the  original  injustice,  and  always  trembles  for  its  power. 
Berchthold's  old  grant  and  the  citizens'  fundamental -law 
still  lay  in  their  golden  chests ;  but  the  ruling  families  of 
the  great  council  desired  neither  to  enforce  nor  to  revoke 
them.  Nothing  was  said  of  the  rights  of  the  commons 
of  Berne,  but  the  inscription  still  remained  on  the  city- 
seal. 

Several  times  the  burghers  murmured  against  the  here- 
ditary power  of  a  few  families.  The  yet  unrevoked  grants 
and  charters  gave  to  the  dissatisfied  a  pretext  and  color  of 
right.  But  the  ruling  power  imposed  silence  on  free  voices. 
When,  in  1710,  several  burghers  demanded  the  restoration 
of  the  old  constitution,  in  a  memorial  to  the  great  council, 
and  even  formed  a  conspiracy,  prisons  and  banishment  dis- 
posed of  the  malcontents.  When,  afterwards,  in  1744, 
twenty -four  burghers  of  the  city  presented  a  respectful  pe- 
tition that  in  future  the  council  should  no  longer  be  chosen 
arbitrarily  and  by  favor,  but  selected  by  lot  from  among 
all  who  were  eligible,  they  were  punished  as  rebels,  some 
by  confinement  to  their  own  houses,  others  by  banish- 
ment. 

Among  these  was  captain  Samuel  Henzi,  a  man  of  noble 
mind  and  uncommon  acquirements.  The  time  of  his  ban- 
ishment, which  he  passed  at  Neuchatel,  was  shortened  by 
pardon.  When  he  returned  to  Berne,  but  found  that 
ne  was  ruined,  and,  on  application,  that  he  was  excluded 


-1749.]  MICHAEL   DUCREST.  227 

from  all  lucrative  employment,  his  heart  became  filled 
with  bitterness  and  he  could  not  restrain  his  indignation. 

At  that  same  time  there  lived  in  the  city  many  upright 
and  wealthy  men  of  respectable  citizen-families,  such  as 
the  Fueters,  Werniers,  Kupfers,  Bondelys,  Lerbers,  Knechts, 
Herberts,  Wyses  and  others.  These  men  mourned  in  si- 
lence over  the  down-trodden  rights  of  the  commons,  and 
lamented  that  the  chartered  prerogatives  of  the  citizens 
could  not  be  maintained  against  the  power  of  those  who 
now  sat,  like  hereditary  lords,  in  the  council-hall.  Henzi 
joined  them,  as  did  Michael  Ducrest,  the  surveyor,  who 
lived  at  Berne  under  arrest,  on  account  of  his  participation 
in  the  disturbances  of  his  native  city,  Geneva.  By  mutual 
complaints  of  the  usurpation  of  the  government  and  of 
the  naughty  harshness  of  some  of  its  members,  the  feelings 
of  these  men  became  excited ;  and  in  conversations  in 
which  the  abuses  of  the  commonwealth  were  vividly  pre- 
sented to  all  their  minds,  bold  resolutions  were  formed. 
No  one  can  say  who  had  the  first  thought  of  a  new  con- 
spiracy. But  captain  Henzi,  whom  his  recent  disgrace  im- 
pelled to  the  zealous  adoption  of  energetic  measures,  soon 
became  the  soul  of  the  whole,  in  consequence  of  his  elo- 
quence and  superior  acquirements. 

They  met  in  the  evenings ;  formed  plans  for  the  restora- 
tion of  the  ancient  order  of  things  agreeably  to  the  charter 
and  fundamental  law,  and  bound  themselves  to  fidelity  and 
silence  by  a  fearful  oath.  Henzi  desired  to  act  with  energy, 
but  also  with  moderation.  Such  was  also  the  wish  of 
Daniel  Fueter,  the  goldsmith.  All  the  best  informed  and 
most  upright  men  agreed  with  them :  they  aimed  simply 
at  the  destruction  of  existing  abuses.  Force  was  only  to 
be  employed  in  the  last  resort  to  resist  force.  But  when 
the  circle  of  the  conspirators  was  enlarged,  and  men  were 
admitted  of  ill-regulated  minds,  fiery  ambition  and  ruined 
fortunes,  the  original  moderation  no  longer  prevailed.  This 
is  proved  by  the  secret  document  they  drew  up  to  justify 
their  enterprise,  in  which  a  deadly  hatred  depicts  in  the 
blackest  colors  all  the  faults  of  the  governing  families. 
"The  sword,  not  the  pen,"  said  they,  "is  the  weapon  by 
which  the  lost  chaplet  of  liberty  must  be  regained." 


228  FUETER  AND  WERNIER.  [1740- 

It  was  agreed  that,  on  the  13th  of  June,  1749,  the  ar- 
senal was  to  be  taken  by  storm,  liberty  proclaimed,  the 
commons  assembled,  a  new  government  installed,  and  the 
great  council  of  the  reigning  families  dissolved. 

The  government,  unsuspicious  of  the  threatening  danger, 
ruled  with  dignity  and  wisdom.  All  the  Confederates  hon- 
ored their  extended  views  and  noble  institutions.  Even 
foreigners  admired  the  good  results  of  their  rule.  Their 
virtues  had  caused  most  of  the  citizens  to  forget  the  ancient 
prerogatives  of  the  commons,  and  the  subjects  congratulated 
themselves  on  the  mildness  and  justice  of  their  lords  and 
masters.  But  the  day  intended  to  ruin  all  approached. 

The  number  of  conspirators  already  amounted  to  sixty. 
But  Henzi,  who  had  been  most  earnest  in  the  cause  before 
the  later  evil  designs  were  revealed  to  him,  abhorred  it,  as 
did  many  of  the  others,  when  he  learned  that  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  conspirators  concealed  the  worst  intentions 
under  the  mask  of  patriotism.  Then  Henzi  withdrew  his 
countenance  from  those  whom  imprudence  and  disunion 
were  leading  to  the  brink  of  ruin.  He  meditated  flight. 
Before  he  could  succeed  in  this,  every  thing  was  betrayed 
by  an  ecclesiastic,  himself  an  accomplice,  bound  by  the 
oath.  Henzi  was  seized  on  a  party  of  pleasure  and  thrown 
into  prison;  as  were  lieutenant  Emanuel  Fueter  and  the 
merchant  Samuel  Wernier.  The  others  fled  in  great  terror, 
and,  when  at  a  distance,  learnt  with  horror  that  those  who 
remained  had  confessed,  under  fear  of  chains  and  torture, 
their  intention  of  assassinating  the  principal  citizens,  of 
burning  the  city,  of  pillaging  the  public  treasury ;  or  that 
these  things  were  at  least  believed  by  the  public.  Few 
felt  themselves  capable  of  such  crimes. 

When  these  things  came  to  light,  Henzi  appeared  the 
most  guilty  of  all.  He  had  repaid  with  ingratitude  the 
kindness  of  the  government  which  had  shortened  his  term 
T  of  exile.  Sentence  of  death  was  passed  upon  all  three. 
The  others  implored  mercy ;  Henzi  did  not ;  he  disdained 
a  life  of  disgrace. 

On  the  16th  of  June,  1749,  Henzi,  heart-broken  but 
fearless,  took  leave  of  his  wife  and  children  ;  saw  the  heads 
of  Wernier  and  Fueter,  his  accomplices,  fall  beneath  the 


-1749.]  HENZI'S  SONS.  229 

sword  of  the  executioner ;  then  presented  himself  without 
trembling  to  the  death-stroke.  He  knew  how  to  die  with 
more  dignity  than  he  had  lived. 

The  rest  were  banished  from  the  country.  When 
Henzi's  widow  stood  on  the  bank  of  the  Rhine  with  her 
two  young  sons,  she  cast  on  her  native  land  a  last  despair- 
ing look,  and  said  to  the  bystanders :  "  Did  I  not  know 
that  these  children  would  one  day  avenge  the  blood  of 
their  slaughtered  father,  dear  as  they  are  to  me,  I  would 
gladly  see  them  swallowed  by  these  waves." 

But  the  sons,  when  arrived  at  manly  years,  were  more 
magnanimous  than  their  mother.  One  of  them,  governor 
of  the  noble  youths  in  the  service  of  the  hereditary 
stadtholder  of  the  Netherlands,  repaid  his  own  undeserved 
misfortunes  by  benefits  to  the  burghers  of  his  native  city. 

However,  these  events  were  not  unattended  with  good 
results  to  Berne.  The  wants  of  the  state  were  discussed 
more  freely.  Many  members  of  the  council,  worthy  des- 
cendants of  their  renowned  ancestors,  urged  the  reform  of 
abuses.  Afterwards  (1780),  the  sentence  pronounced  on  all 
the  criminals  was  revoked,  and  the  banished  were  allowed 
to  return.  So  much  had  public  opinion  changed,  that 
those  who  had  been  carried  too  far  by  their  noble  desires 
to  benefit  the  commonwealth  were  received  with  pity  or 
respect ;  while  contempt  was  the  lot  of  those  who,  instead 
of  dissuading  the  malcontents  from  their  perilous  designs, 
had  entered  the  conspiracy  only  to  become  cowardly 
traitors. 


CHAPTER   LII. 

OF    THE    REBELLION    IN   THE    VALLET    OF   LEVENTINA. 
[A.  D.  1760  to  1765.] 

SHORTLY  after  these  distressing  events  at  Berne,  others, 
even  more  melancholy,  occurred  in  the  valley  of  Leven- 
tina.  Here,  in  a  district  extending  eleven  leagues  from 
the  snow-clad  heights  of  the  St.  Gotthard  to  the  mountain- 


230  URl'S  LOVE  OF  JUSTICE.  [1750- 

torrent  of  the  Abiasca,  on  both  sides  of  the  Ticino  and  in 
the  wild  side- valleys,  dwelt  a  people  content  with  the 
small  returns  of  their  herds  upon  the  Alps,  their  woods 
upon  the  mountains,  and  their  pack-horses  upon  the  St. 
Gotthard  pass.  The  ancient  franchises  with  which  they 
had  passed  from  the  dominion  of  the  Visconti  family  to 
that  of  Uri  remained  unimpaired.  Uri  derived  but  a 
small  revenue  from  the  tolls,  and  a  trifling  impost. 

Therefore  Uri  thought  that  neither  pay  nor  other  com- 
pensation was  due  from  her  when  the  men  of  the  valley 
followed  her  banners  in  the  Toggenburg  war.  "  For," 
said  Uri,  "  we  have  protected  you,  and  maintained  your 
franchises  during  nearly  two  centuries  and  a  half,  almost 
without  compensation;  why  do  you  now  ask  pay  from 
your  sovereign?"  Hereto  the  people  of  Leventina  an- 
swered, and  said :  "  You  are  obliged  to  protect  us  and  to 
maintain  our  franchises  by  the  old  agreement  you  made, 
but  no  agreement  obliges  us  to  go  to  war  for  you  at  our 
own  cost."  And,  as  Uri  still  refused  to  pay  the  wages  for 
tlieir  faithful  service,  and  as  the  people  of  Leventina  there- 
upon seized  the  bailiff  of  Uri  and  appropriated  the  tolls, 
deputies  from  the  five  catholic  cantons  came  to  Altdorf 
and  said  :  "  Uri  owes  the  money." 

So  peace  was  restored,  and  no  bad  feeling  remained  in 
any  heart.  Uri  acknowledged  her  error  and  she  loved 
justice. 

But  in  the  valleys  of  Leventina  dwelt  some  men  who 
were  unjust  towards  their  fellow-citizens,  and  especially 
towards  the  widows  and  orphans  whose  property  they 
managed.  The  widows  and  orphans  complained  to  Uri, 
and  the  government  decided  that  all  guardianship  accounts 
should  be  settled  according  to  the  ancient  custom.  This 
frightened  many  of  the  rich  men  of  the  valley.  They 
said :  "  This  is  an  innovation.  Uri  will  again  attempt  to 
deprive  us  of  our  liberties."  And  they  went  into  the 
villages  round  about,  where  they  had  many  debtors,  and 
excited  the  people  and  said:  "Let  us  be  united  and  we 
can  easily  stand  against  Uri.  If  you  are  courageous,  we 
will  throw  off  the  impost  and  collect  the  tolls  for  ourselves." 
Thus  said  they,  and  wished  to  cover  up  their  own  crime 


-1T55.]  URS,   FURNO  AND  SARTORI.  231 

with  the  crime  of  the  whole  people.  It  was  in  the  beginning 
of  1755,  when  all  the  country  lay  under  the  snow  and 
the  unemployed  peasants  had  much  leisure  on  their  hands. 
They  held  meetings  in  their  villages,  and  formed  all  sorts 
of  resolutions.  Each  wished  to  appear  bolder  than  the 
others.  They  seized  Gamma,  the  bailiff  of  Uri,  as  well 
as  the  collector  of  the  tolls,  and  empowered  the  tribunal 
of  the  valley  to  sit  in  judgment  on  important  cases. 

"When  the  government  of  Uri  heard  of  these  disorders 
they  earnestly  entreated  the  valley-people  to  return  to 
their  allegiance.  Two  men  of  Leventina,  Wela  and  Bull, 
appeared  before  the  general  assembly  to  answer;  they 
spoke  boldly,  not  as  subjects,  but  as  masters ;  there  were 
fully  two  thousand  men  in  arms  on  the  other  side  of  the 
St.  Gotthard  to  support  them. 

Immediately,  the  horn  of  Uri  was  heard  along  the  Reuss. 
Through  storm  and  rain,  nearly  a  thousand  Urners,  with 
six  pieces  of  heavy  artillery,  ascended  the  rocky  paths  of 
the  St.  Gotthard  and  showed  themselves  above  the  sources 
of  the  Ticino.  The  watchmen  of  the  rebels  fled  in  terror 
and  spread  fear  through  the  whole  valley. 

The  chiefs  of  the  insurrection,  Urs,  captain  of  the  coun- 
try, Furno,  banneret  of  the  valley,  Sartori,  council-lord, 
and  others,  their  adherents,  met  together  and  held  a  coun- 
cil of  war.  They  decided :  to  draw  Uri  into  the  valley  as 
far  as  the  foot  of  the  high  Platifer,  where  the  Ticino,  jjvith 
frightful  rush,  breaks  through  a  cleft  in  the  rock,  and 
where  a  handful  of  men  can  hold  at  bay  a  whole  army  on 
the  rock-hewn  path.  When  the  enemy  were  entangled  in 
the  pass,  the  men  of  Leventina  would  come  forth  in  num- 
bers from  all  the  lateral  valleys,  in  the  recesses  of  which 
they  were  till  then  to  be  concealed,  surround  and  annihi- 
late the  forces  of  Uri. 

Unfavorable  weather  covered  the  St.  Gotthard  with  deep 
snow,  even  after  the  lower  valleys  began  to  grow  green. 
Therefore  the  Urners  stopped  in  the  valley  of  Urseren. 
But,  in  the  mean  while,  the  notified  Confederates  of  Zurich, 
Lucerne,  Schwyz,  Zug  and  Unterwalden  hastened  with 
auxiliaries  over  the  lake  of  the  Waldstatten.  Valais,  Berne 
and  Glarus  occupied  the  frontiers  of  Leventina. 


232  IMPOSING  SPECTACLE.  [1750- 

At  last  the  battalions  of  Uri,  reinforced  by  eight  hun- 
dred warlike  Unterwaldeners,  passed  the  heights  of  the  St. 
Gotthard  (21st  May,  1755).  But  when  the  rebels,  instead 
of  the  small  force  of  Uri,  saw  the  banners  of  the  Confeder- 
ates, their  country  completely  surrounded,  and  the  Lucern- 
ers  in  the  valley  of  Ronca,  all  their  courage  failed.  They 
fled,  throwing  away  their  arms,  back  into  their  villages ; 
many  into  the  forests.  In  vain  did  signal-fires  on  the 
heights  give  notice  of  the  danger  and  call  for  a  general 
rising. 

The  Timers  and  Unterwaldeners  advanced  cautiously 
from  village  to  village,  leaving  guards  at  every  defile,  as 
far  as  the  last  hamlet  on  the  Abiasca.  All  yielded  and 
were  disarmed;  the  other  Confederates  received  notice  not 
to  advance  further  with  their  auxiliaries;  good  discipline 
was  maintained ;  the  chiefs  of  the  rebels  seized,  one  after 
the  other ;  and  Urs,  the  captain  of  the  country,  himself 
dragged  from  the  capuchin-convent,  where  he  had  hoped 
to  find  a  safe  asylum. 

Then  began  the  judgment  of  a  whole  people ;  an  impos- 
ing and  fearful  spectacle,  such  as  Switzerland  has  seldom 
seen. 

Near  Faido,  where  the  St.  Gotthard  road  passes  through 
a  small  valley,  surrounded  by  wooded  mountains,  is  an 
open,  even  space,  to  which  the  people  were  accustomed  to 
resort  for  deliberation.  Here  they  were  now  assembled 
from  all  the  villages.  Nearly  three  thousand  men  ap- 
peared on  the  day  of  judgment  (2d  June),  awaiting  their 
sentence.  The  Confederates,  in  arms,  surrounded  the  crim- 
inals. Among  the  multitude  reigned  the  silence  of  death, 
broken  only  by  the  monotonous  thunder  of  the  waterfall 
on  the  neighboring  rock. 

When  all  was  ready,  sentence  was  passed  on  the  people. 
The  forfeited  rights  of  their  ancestors,  their  honors  and 
guarantees  were  taken  from  them.  Then  they  were  con- 
demned, bareheaded  and  on  their  knees,  to  witness  the  ex- 
ecution of  their  chiefs  and  to  swear  obedience  to  Uri. 

Within  the  circle  of  bayonets,  the  thousands  swore  the 
bitter  oath  which  annihilated  the  liberty  inherited  from 
their  fathers,  and  with  the  guilty  living  punished  their 


-1T55.]  EXECUTION  OP  THE"  LEADERS.  233 

guiltless  posterity.  Then,  at  a  signal,  the  crowd  of  peni- 
tents sank  shuddering  to  their  knees,  and,  with  brows  un- 
covered, saw  fall  beneath  the  sword  of  the  executioner  the 
banneret  Furno,  the  captain  of  the  country  Urs,  whose 
bloody  heads  were  nailed  to  the  scaffold,  and  the  council- 
lord  Sartori. 

After  this  terrible  solemnity,  all  the  people  returned  to 
their  cabins,  with  deep  fear  in  their  hearts,  and  on  the  next 
day  the  avenging  army  of  the  Confederates  marched  back 
over  the  St.  Gotthard.  Eight  men  of  the  subjugated  val- 
ley, more  guilty  than  the  rest  of  the  rebels,  walked  in 
chains  before  the  banners,  and  received  the  death-stroke 
in  Uri. 


CHAPTER  LIII. 

HOW   THE    ANCIENT    CONFEDERACY    FELL    INTO    STILL    GREATER 
DECAY.       THE    HELVETIAN    SOCIETY. 

[A.  D.  1765  to  1T61.] 

AT  this  same  time  there  were  many  upright  and  well- 
informed  men  in  the  Confederate  land,  and  their  hearts 
were  heavy  when  they  heard  of  all  these  troubles  and  dis- 
orders. They  saw  therein  presages  of  the  general  ruin  and 
destruction  which  drew  near;  but  no  one  listened  to  their 
warnings.  There  was  certainly  a  great  deal  of  good,  but 
evil  began  to  obtain  the  ascendancy. 

True  patriotism  dwells  side  by  side  with  true  liberty. 
Hence  there  was  more  patriotism  in  the  capital  cities  than 
in  the  country  districts;  more  in  the  shepherd-cantons  than 
in  the  bailiwicks.  The  burghers  of  the  sovereign  cities, 
jealous  of  their  prerogatives,  disliked  to  see  a  subject  rise 
to  eminence  by  learning  or  riches.  All  paths  by  which  he 
might  attain  distinction  as  statesman,  scholar,  soldier  or 
clergyman  were  designedly  closed  to  the  peasant.  In 
many  places  even  commerce  and  the  mechanic  arts  were 
forbidden  to  him.  Bound  to  the  plough  and  to  service,  he 
saw  in  the  city-burgher  his  born  lord,  general,  judge  and 

u* 


234:  EXTINCTION  OF  PATRIOTISM.  [175&- 

priest  The  subjects  of  kings  enjoyed  more  rights  than 
the  subjects  of  the  Swiss.  Even  the  growth  of  the  small 
cities,  flourishing  by  means  of  commerce  and  good  schools, 
was  viewed  with  secret  dissatisfaction  by  the  capitals. 

Hence  that  holy  love  which  willingly  sacrifices  to  the 
fatherland  whatever  is  dearest  disappeared  from  among  the 
people ;  mean  selfishness  filled  the  empty  place.  Hence 
there  was  obedience ;  not  the  obedience  of  freemen  but  of 
slaves,  not  from  conviction  but  from  fear,  full  of  distrust 
of  the  nobles  and  the  cities,  full  of  obstinacy  against  the 
introduction  of  improvements.  For  the  common  people 
were  brought  up  in  blindness  of  mind ;  the  young  men, 
often  without  instruction  or  in  schools  worse  for  the  intel- 
lect than  the  wildest  impulses  of  nature.  It  was  thought 
that  a  blind  people  could  be  more  easily  led.  But  the 
blind,  also,  more  easily  smite  their  own  masters  when  evil 
advisers  place  a  sword  in  their  hands  against  them.  No 
one  thought  of  this. 

At  home  the  governments  were  satisfied  with  being  good 
managers.  The  highest  as  well  as  the  lowest  offices  in 
each  canton  were  paid  moderately,  often  meanly ;  fortunes 
were  made  in  foreign  service  or  in  the  bailiwicks.  Order 
prevailed  in  public  affairs;  love  of  justice  in  spite  of  un- 
favorable laws ;  and  the  rights,  even  of  the  meanest,  were 
generally  respected  and  enforced.  In  consequence  of  the 
trifling  state  expenses,  imposts  were  rare  and  never  burden- 
some. In  the  capital  cities,  science  and  taste  flourished  by 
the  side  of  wealth,  especially  among  the  reformed.  Zurich 
and  Geneva  were  distinguished  among  all  for  their  eminent 
scholars  and  artists.  At  Bale,  on  the  other  hand,  a  narrow 
and  calculating  spirit  caused  the  decline  of  her  time  hon- 
ored university,  so  that  it  had  nearly  as  many  teachers  as 
scholars,  and  became  an  establishment  rather  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  former  than  for  the  education  of  the  latter. 

In  the  capital  cities  of  catholic  Switzerland,  where  the 
clergy  opposed  free  inquiry,  science  attained  no  distin- 
guished honor.  The  monkish  spirit  drove  the  young  men 
away  from  living  knowledge  to  the  coffins  of  dead  erudi- 
tion. 

The  shepherd-cantons  cared  not  for  culture  or  informa- 


-1761.]  CENSORSHIP  OF  THE  PRESS.  236 

tion.  Personal  liberty  and  freedom  from^taxes  supplied 
the  place  of  all.  The  peasant  in  his  hut,  fed  by  his  nocks, 
choosing  his  own  magistrates,  knowing  no  laws  but  such 
as  he  had  helped  to  make,  thought  himself  the  freest  son 
of  earth.  Poor,  rude  and  superstitious,  he  allowed  himself 
to  be  led  by  the  priests  and  rich  families  of  his  district ; 
but  he  was  led,  not  imperiously  governed. 

In  many  cantons,  the  governments  accomplished  good 
things.  Berne  built  palaces  for  the  commonwealth,  con- 
structed highways,  and  amassed  treasures  by  economy. 
Zurich  encouraged  commerce,  science  and  agriculture. 
Lucerne  struggled  gloriously  against  the  nuncio  and  the 
papal  court  of  Borne  (from  1725  to  1748),  when  they  tried 
to  make  the  spiritual  power  superior  to  the  temporal  rights 
of  the  government. 

All  Switzerland  indeed,  to  the  eyes  of  foreigners,  seemed 
a  paradise,  the  abode  of  happy  and  peaceful  men.  But 
they  saw  only  the  beautiful  verdure  of  the  plains,  not  the 
barren  rocks ;  the  majesty  of  the  snow-mountains,  not  their 
destructive  avalanches.  They  saw  the  pomp  of  the  Diets, 
not  their  bickerings ;  the  images  of  William  Tell,  not  the 
slavery  of  the  subjects ;  the  illumination  of  the  cities,  not 
the  spiritual  darkness  of  the  villages.  Everywhere  great 
names  and  words,  small  sentiments  and  actions. 

The  consciousness  of  their  weakness,  which  forbade 
manly  enterprises,  was  called  moderation,  and  cowardice 
was  called  love  of  peace.  Men  sought  for  pensions,  titles, 
chains  of  gold  from  foreign  kings,  and  boasted  of  their 
country's  independence.  They  praised  the  peaceful  happi- 
ness of  the  Swiss,  when  to  centuries  of  civil  and  religious 
wars  had  succeeded  a  century  of  mutinies,  conspiracies' and 
insurrections. 

A  mean-spirited,  small  city-policy,  without  the  dignity 
of  virtue,  thought  to  secure  respect  by  the  darkness  of 
mystery.  Freedom  of  the  press  was  forbidden.  Hardly 
six  years  after  the  establishment  of  the  first  Swiss  press,  an 
official  inspection  of  books  (called  censorship)  was  introduced 
into  Zurich  and  other  cities.  The  gazettes  were  compelled 
to  be  silent  respecting  the  affairs  of  the  country.  It  was 
more  easy  to  learn  the  doings  of  the  Grand  Turk  or  of  the 


236  DISREGARD  OF  THE  BO^D.  [1755- 

Great  Mogul  than  those  of  Zurich,  Berne  or  Schaffhausen. 
This  diminished  the  attachment  of  the  Confederates  for 
their  Confederacy,  as  seemed  to  be  the  wish  of  the  govern- 
ments. 

Entirely  to  destroy  this  holy  and  powerful  feeling,  the 
old  hate  between  the  small  communities,  originating  in 
former  religious  wars  and  feuds,  was  carefully  cherished. 
Freiburg  celebrated  the  fratricidal  day  of  Villmergen  as  a 
religious  festival.  Coldness  and  distrust  separated  the  val- 
leys of  the  same  mountains.  They  no  longer  fought  against 
each  other  with  the  sword,  for  fear  of  foreign  nations ;  but 
more  bitterly  with  tongue  and  pen.  They  reciprocally  for- 
bade the  supply  of  the  most  necessary  provisions;  and 
even,  on  the  frontiers  and  highways,  stationed  soldiers  and 
constables,  who,  with  revolting  harshness,  prevented  the 
transport  of  garden-produce,  eggs,  fowls  and  fish  from  one 
little  corner  of  Switzerland  to  another. 

"  Without  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  others,  no  can- 
ton shall  enter  into  alliance  with  foreign  nations."  So  says 
the  ancient,  perpetual  bond.  Nevertheless,  without  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  others,  the  cantons,  one  and  all, 
made  special  treaties  with  France  or  Austria,  with  Spain 
or  Venice.  "  No  judge  shall  be  acknowledged  who  has 
bought  the  office."  So  declares  the  perpetual  bond.  But 
the  sale  of  offices  was  public,  in  the  forest-cantons  and  else- 
where. 

Such  had  the  Confederacy  become;  everywhere  more 
or  less  openly  corrupt.  Here,  some  villages  and  small 
cities  boasted  of  their  insignificant  privileges  and  opposed 
their  badly-understood  rights  to  all  improvement  in  the 
laws ;  there,  the  cities  strove  for  more  authority  over  the 
country;  now,  the  ancient  families  of  the  cities  claimed 
precedence  of  the  more  recent ;  then,  those  families  who 
sat  in  the  places  of  government  demanded  that  their  au- 
thority should  be  perpetuated  by  law.  Everywhere  pre- 
vailed mean  disputes,  selfishness,  vanity  and  self-impor- 
tance. The  Swiss  were  more  friendly  with  foreign  na- 
tions than  with  each  other ;  and  it  was  easier  for  them  to 
settle  in  any  other  part  of  the  world,  than  to  change  their 
abode  from  one  village  to  another,  or  from  one  canton  to 


-1761-]  ISELIN  AND  HIS  ASSOCIATES.  237 

another,  within  their  own  fatherland.  A  Swiss,  when  he 
had  passed  the  limits  of  his  own  little  district,  was  no  less 
a  foreigner  in  the  Confederacy,  than  was  an  Indian,  a  Per- 
sian or  a  Russian. 

"While  the  monarchies  were  perfecting  their  organization 
and  increasing  their  power,  nothing  was  done  in  Switzer- 
land, either  to  ameliorate  her  constitutions,  or  to  strengthen 
her  bond.  While  France  and  Austria  grew  to  colossal 
powers  and  improved  their  military  systems,  the  careless 
Swiss  allowed  their  arms  to  rust.  They  boasted  of  the 
victories  of  their  ancestors,  and  thought  not  how  to  secure 
victory  in  the  day  of  danger.  Their  means  of  defence 
dated  from  the  Thirty  Years'  War ;  their  latest  military 
tactics  were  nearly  a  century  old.  They  forgot  to  provide 
the  means  by  which  a  force  was  to  be  armed ;  there  was 
no  uniformity  in  their  weapons  or  in  their  management 
of  them.  Some  few,  indeed,  as  Berne,  Zurich  and  Lucerne, 
had  introduced  more  improvements  into  their  military  sys- 
tems than  had  the  others ;  but  what  these  cities  did  seemed 
intended  rather  to  put  down  an  insurrection  of  their  own 
subjects  than  to  repel  an  invasion  of  foreign  forces. 

Such  a  condition  of  things  greatly  saddened  the  hearts 
of  many  right- thinking  and  far-seeing  men  in  the  land  of 
the  Confederates.  Sc/me  of  the  noblest  met  together  at  the 
baths  of  Schinznach  on  the  Aar :  Iselin,  the  philanthropist 
of  Bale,  Hirzel,  the  sage  of  Zurich,  the  independent  Urs 
Balthazar  of  Lucerne,  the  valiant  Zellweger  of  Appenzell 
and  others.  They  founded  (1761)  a  fraternal  association 
of  patriotic  Swiss,  a  Helvetian  society,  for  the  increase  of 
information,  of  public  spirit,  of  Confederate  brotherly  love. 
They  met  every  year;  every  year  their  number  was  in- 
creased from  all  the  cantons  and  allied  places.  Here,  the 
most  worthy  men  of  the  fatherland  learned  to  love  one 
another.  Here,  friendships  were  formed  for  the  public 
good.  In  these  holy  meetings,  the  flame  of  the  ancient 
Confederacy  once  more  blazed  pure  and  noble.  But  the 
governments  of  the  cantons  viewed  these  assemblages  with 
suspicion  and  permitted  them  unwillingly. 


238  HOW  THE  KING   OF  PRUSSIA 


CHAPTER  LIV. 

KING    FREDERICK    THE    GREAT,  AS    PRINCE    OF   NEUCHATEL,  BEHAVES 
NOBLY    TOWARDS    HIS    SUBJECTS.* 

[A.  D.  1762  to  1770.] 

FOR  the  chiefs  and  councils  of  the  cantons  were  afraid 
lest,  by  such  societies,  the  doings  of  the  governments  should 
be  unfavorably  criticised,  their  authority  diminished,  in- 
formation disseminated  among  the  people,  and  their  sub- 
jects imbued  with  a  greater  love  of  liberty. 

The  king  of  Prussia,  who  was  lord  and  prince  of  Neu- 
chatel,  showed  himself  much  less  fearful  of  the  enlighten- 
ment of  his  people.  He  even  increased  and  extended  their 
privileges,  instead  of  diminishing  or  restricting  them. 

Neuchatel  and  Valengin,  with  the  fertile  valleys  along 
the  lake  and  among  the  Jura  mountains,  had  belonged  to 
the  kingdom  of  Burgundy  in  the  earlier  times,  and  after- 
wards passed  to  the  German  empire.  In  the  castle  on  the 
lake-shore  dwelt  the  barons  of  Neuchatel.  They  granted 
great  privileges  to  all  who  would  settle  on  their  savage 
mountains  and  clear  their  impenetrable  forests.  Thus  the 
country  became  peopled,  and  about  the  castle  grew  the 
city,  which  received  from  count  Ulrich  and  his  nephew 
Berthold  (1214)  the  same  rights  as  Besangon,  the  principal 
city  of  Upper  Burgundy. 

Afterwards,  when  lord  Rolin  of'^sTeuchatel  transferred 
his  sovereignty  and  property  to  emperor  Rudolf  of  Habs- 
burg  (1288),  the  country  passed  by  turns  into  several 
hands.  First,  Rudolf  of  Habsburg  ceded  it  to  the  power 
ful  Burgundian  house  of  Chalons ;  then,  nearly  three  cen- 
turies afterwards  (1505),  it  came  into  possession  of  the 
family  of  Longueville ;  and  when  the  last  daughter  of  that 
house,  Mary,  duchess  of  Nemours,  died  (1707),  full  twenty 
heirs  claimed  this  fine  principality.  But  the  estates  of  the 
country,  composed  of  the  twelve  judges  of  the  principality 
of  Neuchatel,  met  together,  examined  the  titles  of  tha 


-mo.]  BECAME  PRIXCE   OF   NKUCHATEL.  239 

claimants,  and  recognized  king  Frederick  I.  of  Prussia  as 
next  heir  to  the  house  of  Chalons. 

Thus  the  king  of  Prussia  became  prince  of  Neuchatel, 
subscribed  to  the  constitution  and  franchises  of  the  country, 
and  exercised  his  rights  over  it  by  a  royal  governor,  and  a 
state-council  which  he  chose  from  among  the  natives. 
Thenceforward,  he  also  was  considered  an  ally  of  the  Con- 
federacy, because  the  principality  was  numbered  among 
the  districts  allied  to  Switzerland.  For  the  ancient  lords 
of  Neuchatel,  as  well  as  the  cities  and  many  of  the  free 
communes,  had  successively,  during  many  centuries,  en- 
joyed the  right  of  perpetual  coburghership  with  the  can- 
tons of  Berne,  Solothurn,  Lucerne  and  Freiburg,  and 
thereby  the  protection  of  the  whole  Confederacy. 

The  people  of  Neuchatel  were  very  jealous  of  their 
rights,  and  would  permit  no  encroachment  on  the  part  of 
the  king  of  Prussia.  In  1748,  when  he  leased  the  reve- 
nues which  he  derived  from  the  country,  the  people  were 
opposed  to  the  innovation,  and  in  1766,  when  he  wished 
to  renew  the  lease,  there  was  much  more  disturbance. 
The  king,  through  his  charge,  Gaudot,  laid  his  complaints 
before  the  canton  of  Berne,  as  the  umpire  appointed  by 
compact ;  and  Berne  decided  almost  every  thing  in  favor 
of  the  prince.  Thereat  the  people  of  Neuchatel  were  so 
enraged,  that  they  followed  Gaudot  when  he  returned  from 
Berne  and  attacked  his  house  (25th  April,  1768).  In  vain 
did  the  magistrates  try  to  restrain  them ;  in  vain  were  the 
troops  called  out.  Gaudot  and  his  nephew,  when  they 
saw  their  danger,  tried  to  frighten  the  people  by  firing 
from  a  window  upon  the  crowd.  They  did  wrong.  A 
carpenter  who  had  almost  forced  his  way  into  the  house 
was  killed.  The  people  rushed  furiously  over  his  dead 
body,  and  Gaudot  fell,  pierced  by  three  bullets. 

Urged  by  the  envoys  of  the  king  and  by  the  council  of 
the  city  of  Neuchatel,  Berne,  Lucerne,  Solothurn  and 
Freiburg,  after  long  deliberation,  sent  a  garrison  into  the 
disturbed  city,  to  preserve  the  public  peace.  Then  tedious 
inquests  and  interminable  parleyings  took  place.  The 
king's  plenipotentiaries  thought  this  a  good  opportunity 
for  the  exercise  of  arbitrary  power,  that  the  country  might 


240  GRANT  OP  NEW  FRANCHISES.  [lY62- 

in  future  be  held  in  more  submission  and  fear.  But  the 
Confederates  were  unwilling  to  be  the  tools  of  foreign  am- 
bition, and  the  banneret  Osterwald  spoke  energetically  and 
courageously  in  defence  of  the  laws  and  franchises  of  his 
fatherland  against  the  foreign  servants  of  the  prince. 
Finally,  the  matter  was  judged  and  decided.  The  city  of 
Neuchatel  was  compelled  to  give  up  her  arms,  to  bear  all 
costs,  to  indemnify  the  family  of  the  unfortunate  Gaudot, 
and,  in  the  persons  of  the  city-council,  to  ask  pardon  of 
the  king's  plenipotentiaries  at  the  castle.  The  more  guilty 
insurgents,  most  of  whom  had  fled,  were  banished,  fined  or 
hung  in  effigy.  Then  the  garrison  of  the  Confederates  re- 
turned home. 

But  the  king  of  Prussia,  after  all  this,  instead  of  restrict- 
ing or  diminishing  the  privileges  of  the  people  of  Neucha- 
tel, as  Uri  had  done  in  Leventina,  consolidated  and  even 
increased  them  by  new  grants.  This  won  back  to  the 
house  of  Prussia  the  hearts  of  all  the  people.  Not  only 
did  he  soon  restore  their  arms,  but  he  allowed  a  yearly 
just  valuation  of  the  ground-rents,  which  might  be  paid  in 
fruits  and  wine,  or  in  money.  He  disclaimed  the  right  of 
arbitrary  removal  from  office;  and  furthermore,  gave  to 
the  united  communes  the  privilege  of  an  independent  ge- 
neral council,  without  whose  assent  the  prince  could  make 
no  change  in  the  management  of  the  state.  Many  things 
which  were  doubtful  or  obscure  in  the  ancient  laws  were 
corrected  and  elucidated,  and  always  to  the  advantage  and 
gain  of  the  people.  Thus  did  the  king,  what  no  govern- 
ment of  the  Swiss  republic  had  ever  done.  But  he  was 
one  of  the  most  excellent  and  wisest  princes  of  that  cen- 
tury. He  was  Frederick  the  Great. 


1770.]  PLACIDUS  SCHUMACHER.  241 


CHAPTER   LV. 

PARTY-QUARRELS    IN    THE    CITY    OF    LUCERNE.       HISTORY    OF    LAND- 
AMMANN    8UTEE    OF    THE    INNER-RHODES    OF   APPENZELL. 

[A.  D.  1TTO  to  1784.] 

ABOUT  the  same  time,  the  city  of  Lucerne  also  was  the 
scene  of  still  more  afflicting  troubles  and  disturbances. 
Here,  as  in  some  other  cities  of  Switzerland,  the  principal 
and  noble  families  had  long  since  taken  possession  of  the 
government  as  an  inheritance,  and  almost  entirely  annihi- 
lated the  ancient  influence  of  the  rest  of  the  citizens  in  the 
commonwealth.  More  than  one  person,  raised  to  the  ma- 
gistracy, not  by  talents  or  virtues  but  by  the  favor  of  in- 
fluential relatives,  thought  he  had  a  right  to  live  at  the 
expense  of  the  state  without  doing  much  for  the  state. 
Sometimes  an  excessive  indulgence,  sometimes  an  ambi- 
tious jealousy,  on  the  part  of  the  rulers  towards  each  other, 
brought  great  evils  on  the  commonwealth  and  on  them- 
selves. Such  was  the  increasing  corruption  of  morals,  that 
unfaithfulness  in  the  management  of  the  public  property 
was  not  unusual.  Magistrates  absconded  with  government- 
money;  the  granary  and  arsenal  were  plundered;  even 
the  state-treasury  was  broken  into  and  robbed. 

Already  the  amtmann,  Leodegar  Meyer,  had  been 
obliged  to  expiate  in  exilB  his  excessive  luxury,  to  supply 
which  he  had  abstracted  a  large  sum  from  the  state-money. 
Shortly  after  him,  the  state-treasurer,  Jost  Nicholas  Joa- 
chim Schumacher,  wasted  in  prodigal  expenses  32,000 
florins  belonging  to  the  country  and  was  forever  banished 
from  the  territory  of  the  whole  Confederacy  (1762).  His 
son,  Placidus  Schumacher,  was  not  deterred  bj  his  father's 
warning  example  from  a  most  disorderly  life.  He  first 
spent  all  his  own  property ;  sank  in  debt ;  then,  as  amt- 
mann, mismanaged  the  signiory  of  Heidegg ;  entered  the 
Austrian  military  service;  left  it;  wandered  about  the 
territory  of  his  native  city  and  in  the  neighborhood ;  asso- 
ciated with  discontented  men,  and  made  himself  beloved 
11  v 


VALENTINE  MEYER.  [lY70- 

by  or  of  importance  among  them  by  his  extravagant 
speeches.  Although  there  was  no  appearance  of  sedition, 
the  suspicions  of  the  government  were  aroused,  because 
they  were  too  well  aware  of  their  own  arbitrary  conduct 
and  weakness  to  have  any  confidence  in  the  people. 
Schumacher  and  some  of  his  loose  companions  were  im- 
prisoned under  charge  of  seditious  designs,  though  he 
had  merely  drawn  up  a  petition  expressing  the  complaints 
of  the  malcontents  in  the  ordinary  and  legal  manner. 
He  was  accused  of  high  treason,  and,  although  nothing 
was  proved,  was  beheaded  (1764),  to  the  terror  of  the 
citizens  and  country-people.  Others,  who  had  been  with 
him,  were  sentenced  to  banishment. 

Some  years  afterwards,  when  those  who  had  decreed 
Schumacher's  death  became  sensible  of  their  own  un- 
founded fear  and  injustice,  each  wished  to  throw  off  the 
burden  of  guilt.  The  council-lord,  Valentine  Meyer,  who 
conducted  the  trial,  had  contributed  most,  it  was  now  said, 
to  the  severity  of  the  sentence.  The  family  of  the  victim 
at  first  privately  then  publicly,  accused  him.  Then  it 
was  remembered  that  he  was  the  son  of  Leodegar  Meyer, 
and  might,  probably,  have  been  actuated  by  bloodthirsty 
revenge.  Even  those  who  had  joined  with  him  in  the 
trial,  judgment  and  sentence,  and  had  signed  the  latter, 
meanly  declared  against  him.  Then  general  Pfyffer,  head 
of  the  French  party,  who  was  Meyer's  enemy  because  the 
latter  had  often  spoken  zealously  against  the  injurious  in- 
fluence of  France,  rose  triumphant  against  him ;  then 
every  one  who  feared  or  envied  his  talents  or  acquirements 
accused  him.  To  him,  as  a  clear-thinking  man,  was  at- 
tributed the  authorship  of  a  pamphlet  which  had  been 
published  at  Zurich  with  this  title:  "Would  not  the 
catholic  Confederates  be  benefitted  by  the  complete  sup- 
pression or  the  restriction  of  the  regular  monastic  orders  ?" 
f  This  added  the  convents,  clergy  and  nuncio  to  the  crowd 
of  his  enemies.  An  ironical  refutation  of  the  pamphlet, 
not  without  satire  against  the  monks,  which  he  read  to  a 
circle  of  confidential  friends,  was,  when  it  appeared  in  print, 
burned  with  ridiculous  solemnity  by  the  hangman  of  Lu- 
cerne, a  false  friend  having  betrayed  the  name  of  the  author. 


-1*784.]  JOHN  JACOB  GEIGEB.  243 

This  was  enough  to  condemn  him.  He  was  to  be  made  a 
victim.  In  order  to  find  grounds  of  accusation,  his  enemies 
used  every  means,  violated  the  faith  of  the  state,  the  secresy 
of  the  post-office,  broke  into  his  house  and  ransacked  his  pa- 
pers. When  all  these  high-handed  measures  had  failed  to 
discover  any  crime,  he  was  arrested  at  his  country-place, 
where,  knowing  his  innocence,  he  dwelt  freely  and  fear- 
lessly. Forty-three  days  he  lay  in  prison  and  had  no 
hearing.  In  vain  did  the  upright  and  brave  avoyer  Keller, 
the  wise  patriot  Felix  Balthasar  and  many  other  impartial 
men  address  the  council  in  his  behalf.  In  vain  did  Meyer 
himself  send  a  justificatory  petition :  they  decided  not 
even  to  open  it.  In  vain  did  honest  Casimer  Kruss  advise 
reconciliation  and  peace.  Meyer  was  sentenced  to  fifteen 
years  of  banishment;  while  on  the  other  hand,  each  of 
those  who  had  been  condemned  to  exile  or  the  galleys  as 
accomplices  of  Placidus  Schumacher,  received  a  pardon 
(1770).  Then,  for  the  first  time,  did  the  divided  principal 
families  make  peace  among  themselves,  agreeing  that  the 
troubles  in  Lucerne  arose,  not  from  injustice,  but  from  the 
too  severe  application  of  the  laws  to  the  members  of  the 
government  and  of  the  ruling  families ;  and  that  mutual 
forbearance  and  a  firm  alliance  could  alone  prevent  the 
prerogatives  of  the  nobility  from  passing  into  tne  hands  of 
the  citizens. 

Shortly  after  these  events,  the  bloody  end  of  Joseph 
Anthony  Suter,  landammann  of  the  Inner-rhodes  of  Ap- 
penzell,  made  it  evident  that  the  freedom  and  rights  of  the 
citizen  are  no  safer  with  a  whole  people  than  under  the 
sovereignty  of  a  few  noble  and  patrician  families,  when 
the  spirit  of  moderation  and  justice  has  given  place  to  the 
intrigues  of  selfish  ambition  and  revenge. 

Suter  was  innkeeper  at  Gonten ;  a  man  of  little  edu- 
cation, but  of  cheerful  mother-wit,  charitable  to  the  poor, 
kindly  to  all.  For  these  qualities,  the  Appenzellers  made 
him  bailiff  of  Rheinthal,  preferring  him  to  John  Jacob 
Geiger.  The  latter  had  sought  the  office,  as  it  was  lucrative, 
to  compensate  him  Tor  the  sacrifices  he  had  previously 
made.  Two  years  afterwards,  the  nine  rhodes  of  the  coun- 


244  THE  SANTIS-ALP.  [1770- 

try  chose  the  amiable  Suter  governing  landammann,  and 
again  preferred  him  to  his  rival  Geiger. 

This  enraged  the  latter  and  many  others  in  the  country 
who  thought  themselves  of  importance.  They  secretly 
formed  a  party  against  Suter.  Many  rich  people,  also, 
were  his  enemies,  because  he  had  zealously  opposed  an  un- 
just law  which  gave  to  home  creditors  the  preference  over 
foreign  ones  against  insolvent  debtors.  "  For,"  said  Suter, 
"it  is  unjust,  destroys  the  confidence  of  foreigners  and 
prevents  them  from  loaning  money  in  our  country."  But 
the  rich  men  said :  "  Suter  favors  foreigners  ;  he  is  not  a 
friend  to  his  own  people." 

Suter  did  not  care  for  these  calumnies,  but  used  all  the 
means  in  his  power  to  benefit  the  country.  He  obtained  for 
his  canton  from  the  commune  of  Oberried  in  Rheinthal  the 
refusal  of  one  of  the  finest  alps  on  the  upper  Santisberg, 
in  case  it  should  be  sold.  The  Appenzellers,  when  once 
in  great  want  of  money,  had  sold  this  alp  to  the  Ober- 
rieders.  Afterwards,  when  it  was  reported  that  large 
portions  of  the  great  Santis-alp  had  been  mortgaged  to 
foreigners,  landammann  Suter  persuaded  the  members  of 
the  council  to  have  the  alp  appraised  and  the  money  ap- 
propriated, and  to  take  immediate  possession. 

Herein  his  zeal  carried  him  too  far.  Oberried  justly 
complained  to  the  Diet  against  the  Inner-rhodes,  and  the 
council,  repenting  their  precipitancy,  withdrew  their  pre- 
tensions. Suter,  however,  obstinate  and  made  proud  by 
his  dignities,  would  not  yield,  but  carried  on  the  suit  at 
his  own  expense.  After  he  had  lost  it  before  the  Diet 
(1775)  and  came  home,  he  was  ashamed  to  acknowledge 
the  truth.  When  it  became  known  that  the  canton  of 
Appenzell  had  been  sentenced  in  the  costs  and  that  all 
her  real  estate  in  Eheinthal  was  held  as  security  for  their 
payment,  although  Suter  declared  that  he  would  pay  the 
whole,  the  enemies  of  the  laudammann  raised  a  great  out- 
cry, and  his  colleague,  landammann  Geiger,  and  the  council 
said :  "  Suter  has  deceived  the  government  by  misrepre- 
sentations, and  has  brought  shame  and  disgrace  on  the 
Inner-rhodes  before  all  the  Confederates."  And  the  coun- 
cil, without  a  hearing,  though  he  was  chief  of  the  canton, 


-1784.]  MYSTERIOUS  SENTENCE.  245 

took  from  him  the  seal  of  state,  deprived  him  of  all  his 
honors  and  dignities,  and  declared  him  incapable  of 
filling  any  office  in  future. 

Then  said  Suter :  "  You,  my  enemies,  have  neither  au- 
thority nor  right  to  pass  such  a  sentence ;  the  general 
assembly  shall  judge  between  you  and  me." 

But  before  the  meeting  of  the  general  assembly,  many 
reports,  unfavorable  to  Suter,  were  spread  among  the 
people.  The  capuchins,  who  were  also  his  enemies,  went 
from  house  to  house,  and  preached  and  spoke  of  Suter's 
secret  sins  and  misdemeanors.  When  tne  general  as- 
sembly was  held,  loud  cries  were  raised  among  the  people 
for  and  against  the  accused,  and  he  was  dragged  by  force 
from  the  landammann's  seat,  in  spite  of  hundreds  of  voices 
proclaiming  his  innocence. 

Then,  while  this  deserted  and  ruined  man  was  making 
a  pilgrimage  to  the  miraculous  image  at  Einsiedeln,  he 
was,  during  his  absence,  banished  forever  by  the  council 
from  the  whole  Confederacy,  as  an  enemy  to  religion, 
liberty  and  peace ;  his  name  nailed  to  the  gallows ;  his 
property,  real  and  personal,  sold  at  a  very  low  price  to 
pay  the  costs  and  his  debts ;  every  one  of  his  friends 
deposed  from  the  council,  and  even  his  own  true  wife  for- 
bidden, under  penalty  of  deprivation  of  civil  rights,  to 
call  him  husband  any  longer.  No  one  knew  the  reasons 
for  so  severe  a  punishment.  So  far  as  the  judicial  sentence 
expressed  any,  it  mentioned  only  trivial  faults,  but  hinted 
mysteriously  at  secret  crimes,  which  could  not  be  made 
public  for  fear  of  scandal.  It  was  uncertain  whether  this 
mystery  was  intended  to  veil  the  iniquity  of  the  banished 
man  or  that  of  his  judges. 

The  outlawed  old  man  dwelt  thenceforth,  much  com- 
miserated, at  Constance,  on  the  lake.  Some  years  after, 
he  demanded  an  impartial  tribunal  and  a  safe-conduct. 
Seventy  men  of  Appenzell  voluntarily  united  to  serve 
him  as  an  escort.  But  Suter's  petition  was  refused,  and 
four  of  the  most  resolute  of  the  seventy  were  condemned 
to  death  and  led  to  the  place  of  execution,  but  pardoned 
after  being  whipped  by  the  hangman. 

Now  silence  and  terror  prevailed.     The  banished  man 


J 

246  DEATH  OP  SITTER.  [1770- 

remained  at  Constance.  Sometimes  he  went  into  the  Outer- 
rhodes  to  see  his  friends.  After  a  long  while,  there  came 
into  the  country  a  person  named  Baptista  Boss,  who,  when 
considered  a  partisan  of  Suter,  had  been  declared  infa- 
mous. When  now  again  arrested  he  said,  in  order  to  make 
himself  of  consequence:  "  Old  Suter  is  raising  a  force  in 
the  Outer-rhodes  to  attack  the  town  of  Appenzell,  and  to 
rouse  the  people  to  revolt  against  Geiger's  party."  He 
even  cited  some  honest  men  as  witnesses.  But  the  honest 
men  said :  "  He  tells  a  falsehood." 

He  was  believed  nevertheless ;  the  people  were  excited 
against  the  exile  by  atrocious  calumnies ;  then  they  deter- 
mined to  get  possession  of  his  person.  This  was  done  in 
a  shameful  manner.  They  went  as  friends  to  his  own 
daughter,  who  was  married  at  Appenzell,  and  deceitfully 
persuaded  her  to  write  to  him  to  come  to  the  Crown-inn  at 
Wald,  a  commune  of  the  Outer-rhodes,  where  he  would 
hear  important  and  agreeable  news. 

Unsuspectingly  the  old  man  obeyed  the  call  of  his  de- 
ceived daughter.  He  was  decoyed,  under  various  pretexts, 
as  far  as  Oberegg,  a  hamlet  of  the  Inner-rhodes.  There 
he  was  seized,  bound  and  carried  on  an  open  sled  to  Ap- 
penzell (9th  Feb.,  1784).  It  was  a  rough  winter's  day. 
W  hile  his  guards  refreshed  themselves  at  the  inn  of  Al- 
statten,  the  old  landammann  lay  praying  upon  the  sled. 
The  stormy  wind  shook  the  new-fallen  snow  from  his  grey 
locks. 

Before  the  criminal  court  he  renewed  the  oath  of  his 
innocence.  Thrice  in  a  single  day  subjected  to  torture,  he 
would  acknowledge  no  guilt.  Nevertheless  sentence  of 
death  was  pronounced  against  him.  Twenty  of  the  judges 
would  not  give  their  votes  thereto,  and  solemnly  protested 
in  the  records  of  the  court  against  participation  in  the  sen- 
tence. But  it  was  carried  into  effect  that  same  day  (9th 
March,  1784).  Old  Suter  heard  his  doom  with  all  the 
calmness  of  innocence;  with  all  the  calmness  of  innocence 
he  went  to  the  place  of  execution.  There  his  head  fell. 


-1781.]  THE  SECRET  FAMILIES.  247 

CHAPTER  LVI. 

DISTURBANCES   AND    INSURRECTIONS    IN   THE   CANTON   OP   FREIBURG. 
[A.  D.  1781  to  1790.] 

WHILE  party-hate  occasioned  fermentation  in  the  land 
of  Appenzell,  it  showed  itself  still  more  dangerous  in  the 
canton  of  Freiburg.  Dissatisfaction  had  long  prevailed  in 
city  and  country. 

Here,  in  the  earliest  times,  the  avoyers  and  a  few  judges 
had  managed  the  affairs  of  the  city  and  of  the  territory  im- 
mediately surrounding  it,  which  is  still  called  the  ancient 
district.  Important  matters  were  decided  by  the  assem- 
.bled  people.  When  the  people  became  too  numerous  for 
this,  the  supreme  power  was  confided  to  a  committee  of 
wise  men,  called  the  great  council.  At  first  this  council 
was  composed  of  burghers  of  city  and  country,  as  repre- 
sentatives of  a  free  people ;  then  of  nobles  and  patricians 
only ;  finally,  of  none  but  the  members  of  certain  families. 

Then,  between  the  great  and  little  councils  (the  legisla- 
tive and  executive),  the  council  of  sixty,  an  intermediary 
authority,  was  established,  and  from  this  council  of  sixty 
proceeded  yet  another  authority  with  greater  power,  the 
secret  chamber  (1553),  which  could  nominate  to  and  ex- 
clude from  all  offices.  For  a  long  while,  an  equal  number 
of  burghers  from  the  four  districts  or  banners  of  the  city 
were  chosen  for  the  sixty  and  great  council,  but  at  last  only 
the  members  of  certain  families,  which  were  called  the 
secret  families.  Finally  (1784)  all  the  other  burghers  were 
thenceforward  forever  excluded  from  entrance  into  the 
number  of  the  secret  families. 

Hence  arose  dissatisfaction  among  the  city-burghers 
against  the  governing  or  secret  families  who  held  all  the 
offices.  And  there  was  latterly  a  division  among  the  se- 
cret families  themselves,  because  the  nobles  among  them 
claimed  precedence  over  those  who  were  not  noble.  With 
the  decline  of  the  liberty  of  the  commons,  industry  lost 
its  strength  and  life.  Before  the  institution  of  the  secret 


248  PETER  NICHOLAS  CHENAUR.  [1781- 

chamber,  numerous  weavers  brought  prosperity  to  the 
land;  every  year  more  than  twenty  thousand  pieces  of 
white  cloth  were  sold  to  Venice  alone.  The  number  of 
working  tanners  in  a  single  quarter  of  the  city  was  nearly 
two  thousand.  But  now  there  was  an  end  to  all  this. 
The  people  of  the  ancient  district  also  regretted  the  free 
old  time ;  for  now  they  were  nearly  on  a  par  with  common 
subjects. 

Although  the  government  had  already,  several  times,  re- 
pressed with  severity,  as  criminal  innovations,  the  respect- 
ful petitions  of  individual  burghers  and  even  of  whole 
communes,  some  persons  thought  it  a  duty  to  renew  their 
complaints,  in  consequence  of  the  continued  dissatisfaction 
of  the  people.  > 

In  the  pretty  village,  La  Tour  de  Treme,  upon  his  own 
extensive  estate,  lived  a  man  well  versed  in  the  sciences 
and  in  the  history  of  his  country.  His  name  was  Peter 
Nicholas  Chenaur,  and  he  was  much  esteemed  for  bis  up- 
rightness and  magnanimity.  He  and  his  friends,  John 
Peter  Raccaud  and  the  lawyer  Castellaz  of  Greyerz,  saw 
that  all  petitions  to  the  government  would  be  useless  with- 
out an  earnest  demonstration  on  the  part  of  the  whole 
people.  They  sent  confidential  messengers  into  the  val- 
leys, and  found  all  ready  to  sustain  them. 

Then  Chenaur  ventured  to  go  to  the  city  of  Freiburg 
(3d  May,  1781),  to  lay  the  complaints  of  the  country  be- 
fore the  council.  Fifty  or  sixty  armed  men  escorted  him. 
But  the  council,  already  informed  of  the  popular  move- 
ment, had  closed  the  gates  against  him,  strengthened  the 
troops  and  armed  the  citizens.  Thereat  wild  cries  of  re- 
volt resounded  from  village  to  village.  The  alarm-bells 
were  rung.  When  Chenaur  saw  the  movement  so  general, 
he  became  bolder,  organized  the  people  into  battalions 
with  officers,  and  breathed  courage  into  them.  Once  again 
but  in  vain,  did  Castellaz  send  a  petition  to  the  council  of 
Freiburg,  requesting  them  to  listen  to  the  complaints  of  the 
people  or  to  submit  the  difference  to  the  mediating  can- 
tons. This  proving  fruitless,  Chenaur  (-ith  May),  with 
more  than  twenty-five  hundred  peasants,  for  the  most 
part  badly  armed,  marched  against  Freiburg,  as  far  as  St. 


-1790.]  COLONEL  FROIDEVILLB.  249 

James's  chapel.  With  six  or  eight  hundred  men,  he  ad- 
vanced close  to  the  city ;  others  went  by  the  way  of  the 
gate  of  Bourgillon;  five  hundred  lay  in  the  woods  of  Scho- 
neuburg  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Saanen.  From  distant 
pans  of  the  canton  many  others  were  hastening. 

The  garrison  of  the  city  marched  out  with  great  military 
pomp.  By  the  side  of  the  banners  of  Freiburg  floated  the 
standard  of  Berne.  For  Berne,  called  upon  for  help,  had 
at  once  sent  three  hundred  dragoons,  then  under  drill. 
Colonel  Froideville,  a  prudent  and  humane  officer,  com- 
manded them. 

Froideville  spoke  kindly  to  the  insurgents,  required 
them  to  lay  down  their  arms,  promised  forgiveness  of  the 
past  and  a  hearing  of  all  their  complaints  by  the  govern- 
ment and  mediating  cantons.  More  the  peasants  had  not 
asked.  They  were  ready  to  lay  down  their  arms  on  Froide- 
ville's  word  of  honor.  But  when  he  demanded  the  sur- 
render of  their  leaders,  they  became  suspicious,  and  refused. 

During  these  parleyings,  the  crowd  of  peasants  had  been 
surrounded  and  the  heavy  artillery  brought  up.  When 
the  insurgents  saw  this,  they  were  terrified  and  threw 
down  their  arms.  Those  who  could,  fled.  This  flight 
struck  terror  into  the  bands  behind.  They  hastily  dis- 
persed. 

Among  the  fugitives  was  Chenaur.  But  one  of  his  own 
people,  Henry  Rossier,  either  from  anger  at  the  failure  of 
the  enterprise  or  to  curry  favor  with  the  victors,  treach- 
erously murdered  him  from  behind.  The  dead  body  of 
Chenaur,  given  up  to  the  executioner,  was  cut  into  pieces, 
and  the  head  exposed  on  a  pike  from  the  Romont  gate- 
tower.  Castellaz  and  Raccaud,  condemned  to  be  quar- 
tered, happily  escaped  by  flight.  Others  of  the  leaders 
were  punished  by  deprivation  of  life,  property  or  honor. 

In  the  mean  while,  Berne,  Solothurn  and  Lucerne  had 
sent  more  troops,  and  mediators,  to  Freiburg.  But  the 
government  gave  notice  that,  from  its  own  innate  goodness, 
it  would  listen -to  the  complaints  of  the  communes;  then 
allowed  the  whole  country  no  more  than  three  days  time 
to  draw  up  in  writing  and  submit  a  statement  of  griev- 
ances. Notwithstanding  this  short  space,  and  notwith- 
11* 


250  IGNATIUS  GIRAED  AND  [1781- 

standing  the  soldiers  with  whom  the  city  swarmed,  numer- 
ous delegates  of  the  communes  hastened  to  Freiburg  from 
far  and  near. 

The  examination  of  the  complaints  dragged  on  from 
month  to  month,  without  result.  Then  the  people  thought 
of  their  disappointed  expectations,  and  lamented  the  death 
of  the  man  whose  life  had  been  a  sacrifice.  Every  day 
Chenaur's  grave  was  surrounded  by  praying  multitudes. 
Pilgrims  thronged  to  it  with  hymns  and  crosses  and  ban- 
ners. In  vain  did  the  government  station  sentinels  with 
loaded  arms;  in  vain  did  the  bishop  condemn  pilgrimages 
to  Chenaur's  remains ;  nothing  could  prevent  the  people's 
grateful  remembrance  of  the  dead. 

The  common  burghers  of  the  capital  city  and  the  twen- 
ty-four parishes  of  the  ancient  district  had  also  hoped,  with 
better  prospect  of  success  under  the  circumstances,  to  se- 
cure a  recognition  of  their  rights  from  the  governing 
families.  They  asked  only  for  access  to  the  chamber  of 
archives.  There  still  lay  the  charters,  sanctioned  by  oath, 
of  the  years  1404  and  1558,  which  guaranteed  to  the 
burghers  and  inhabitants  of  the  city  a  share  in  the  elec- 
tions and  in  the  fundamental  legislation.  But  the  govern- 
ment said :  "  The  rules  of  your  corporations  and  guilds 
are  sufficient  to  inform  you  of  your  rights."  Thus  re- 
pulsed, the  burghers  and  peasants  could  hope  for  justice 
only  from  the  mediating  cantons.  After  long  attempts  at 
conciliation,  the  following  declaration  from  Berne,  Lucerne 
and  Solothurn  at  last  suddenly  appeared  :  "  We  will  main- 
tain the  present  constitution  of  Freiburg  with  all  our  force ; 
the  pretensions  of  the  burghers  are  groundless  and  uncon- 
stitutional ;  we  however  recommend  to  the  government 
that  no  precedence  be  allowed  to  the  nobles  over  the  patri- 
cians of  the  secret  families,  that  the  burdens  on  the  coun- 
try-people be  diminished,  and  any  abuses  that  may  have 
crept  in  be  corrected." 

The  burghers,  with  consternation,  heard  this  proclaimed 
from  the  pulpit  (28th  July,  1782).  On  the  evening  of  the 
same  day,  all  the  four  banners  of  the  city  assembled  in 
front  of  avoyer  Gady's  house.  The  lawyer  Eey,  the  nota- 
ry Guisolan,  the  merchant  Ignatius  Girard,  spoke  in  behalf 


-1790.]  HIS  FELLOW-CITIZENS.  251 

of  the  citizens.  The  avoyer  listened  calmly,  with  appa- 
rent assent. 

But,  a  few  days  afterwards,  Rey  was  banished  with  his 
family  for  forty  years,  Guisolan  for  twenty,  Girard  for  ten ; 
even  Emanuel  of  Maillardon,  son  of  one  of  the  ruling  fam- 
ilies, was  exiled  for  six  years,  because  he  had  said  in  an 
assembly  of  the  banners :  "  It  is  desirable  that  the  burgh- 
ers be  reinstated  in  their  ancient  rights."  Many  others 
suffered  in  like  manner. 

Nevertheless,  the  government  wisely  lightened  many  of 
the  burdens  of  the  peasants,  increased  the  number  of  secret 
citizens  by  the  addition  of  sixteen  families,  and  promised 
that,  in  future,  when  one  of  these  families  became  extinct, 
it  should  be  replaced  by  three  new  ones. 


CHAPTER  LYII. 

DISTURBANCES    IN   THE    BISHOPRIC    OF   BALE,  IN  VAUD  AND  ORISONS. 
[A.  D.  1790  to  1794.] 

BUT  about  this  time  also,  there  arose  in  the  vicinity  of 
Switzerland  a  storm  which  threatened  misfortune  to  the 
Confederates  and  to  all  the  thrones  and  countries  of  Eu- 
rope. France,  in  consequence  of  the  continued  extrava- 
gance of  her  former  kings,  was  sunk  in  hopeless  debt  and 
misery.  In  spite  of  constant  increase,  the  heavy  taxes  and 
imposts  did  not  produce  sufficient  to  pay  the  enormous  in- 
terest and  the  expenses  of  the  state,  but  there  was  an  annual 
deficit  of  140,000,000  of  francs.  The  rich  convents,  nobles 
and  princes  would  bear  no  portion  of  the  burden,  and  the 
exhausted  people  could  endure  no  more.  In  the  courts 
of  the  king  and  princes,  in  the  castles  of  the  nobles,  in  the 
abbeys  and  great  cities  were  still  magnificence  and  abun- 
dance, feastings  and  pleasures,  while  the  country-people 
lay  steeped  in  wretchedness  and  misery.  Law  did  not ' 
govern,  but  arbitrary  will;  there  was  no  religion,  but 
mockery  and  unbelief  among  the  great,  ignorance  and  su- 


252  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.  [1790- 

perstition  among  the  lower  classes.  This  must  needs  bring 
a  curse  upon  the  country.  And  it  came. 

As  soon  as  the  dissipated  court  could  no  longer  meet  its 
expenses,  and  the  people  could  no  longer  pay  taxes,  the 
whole  came  to  the  ground.  When  the  king  assembled  the 
states-general  for  advice  and  assistance,  they  abolished  the 
privileges  of  the  nobles  and  clergy.  The  people  rose  and 
destroyed  the  prisons.  The  castles  of  the  signiors  disap- 
peared in  flames.  The  property  of  the  clergy  was  con- 
verted to  the  uses  of  the  state ;  its  value  was  three  thou- 
sand millions  of  francs.  Then  the  princes,  nobles  and 
clergy  fled,  terrified,  into  foreign  lands  ;  many  into  Switz- 
erland ;  many  to  the  kings  of  other  countries,  whose  help 
they  asked.  And  when  the  kings  armed  and  threatened, 
the  French  also  seized  the  sword  and  said :  "  We  are  mas- 
ters on  our  own  soil." 

There  was  a  great  difference  of  opinion  in  the  minds  of 
the  whole  world  respecting  these  events.  The  rulers  and 
privileged  classes  in  other  countries  said :  "  The  French 
are  very  wrong."  But  those  who  felt  aggrieved  by  their 
own  rulers  and  lords  said  :  "  The  French  are  very  right." 

So  reasoned  also  in  those  days  the  people  of  the  bishop- 
ric of  Bale,*  especially  when  their  ruler  and  prince,  bishop 
Joseph  of  Boggenbach,  wished  to  prevent  the  communes 
of  the  bishopric  from  holding  their  customary  and  lawful 
assemblies.  As  the  people  insisted  on  their  right,  the 
bishop  called  on  the  Confederate  cantons  to  uphold  him ; 
and  when  they  showed  a  disinclination  to  be  mixed  up  in 
his  disputes,  he  requested  the  emperor  (1791)  to  send 
troops  for  a  garrison.  Bale  and  the  other  Confederates 
were  at  first  unwilling  to  allow  the  Austrians  a  passage 
through  the  Swiss  territory,  but  finally  consented.  They 
thought  this  of  little  consequence,  although  the  advocate 
of  the  states-general  of  the  bishopric,  court-councillor  Yon 
Rengger,  had  declared  that  the  states-general  had  a  right, 
under  the  treaty  of  1781  with  France,  to  introduce  as  many 
French  troops  as  there  were  Austrians.  Thenceforth  the 
bishop  had  the  power  in  his  own  hands ;  Kengger  was 

*  An  allied  district,  not  a  Confederate  state. 


-1794]  THE  REPUBLIC  OF  RAURACIA.  253 

obliged  to  fly,  and  others  who  were  of  the  same  opinion 
with  him  were  mercilessly  condemned  to  the  pillory  and 
perpetual  imprisonment. 

But  about  a  year  afterwards  (April,  1792)  war  suddenly 
broke  forth  between  France  and  Austria;  then  French 
troops  entered  the  bishopric  and  drove  out  the  Austrian 
garrisons.  The  bishop,  terrified,  fled  to  Bienne ;  soon, 
still  further.  No  one  helped  him.  It  would  have  been 
better  for  him  had  he  not  exasperated  his  people. 

The  French  wisely  respected  Erguel  and  Munsterthal, 
which  had  long  been  in  defensive  alliance  with  Berne  and 
Bienne ;  but  they  occupied  Pruntrut  and  those  districts  of 
the  bishopric  which  were  nearest  to  Germany.  And  court- 
councillor  Von  Rengger  came  back.  With  his  partisans, 
be  roused  the  whole  land.  The  bishop's  officers  were 
driven  away  and  the  prince's  revenues  sequestrated.  But 
when  Louis  XVI.,  king  of  France,  was  dethroned  by  his 
own  people,  and  his  kingdom  made  a  free  republic,  Reng- 
ger  also  planted  at  Pruntrut  a  liberty-tree,  as  it  is  called ; 
which  is  a  high  pole  surmounted  by  a  red  cap,  in  token  of 
the  country's  freedom.  The  delegates  of  the  communes 
assembled  around.  There  they  abjured  forever  all  con- 
nection with  the  bishop  and  also  with  the  emperor  and 
German  empire  (Nov.,  1792).  They  formed  their  little 
state  into  a  republic,  which  they  baptised  Eauracia. 

But  great  disturbances  arose  therefrom.  For  every  one 
wished  to  command,  no  one  to  obey.  The  parties  perse- 
cuted each  other.  Finally,  many  demanded  the  incorpo- 
ration of  their  country  with  France.  When  Rengger  and 
his  party  saw  that  they  could  no  longer  maintain  their 
authority,  they  gave  up  the  life  of  their  three-months  old 
republic,  and  on  the  7th  of  March,  1793,  the  assembled 
people  decreed  the  union  of  the  bishopric  of  Bale  with 
France.  And  this  was  effected.  Only  Erguel  and  Mun- 
sterthal still  remained  independent,  in  consequence  of  their 
alliances  with  Berne. 

Probably,  the  Confederates  would  willingly  have  pro- 
tested against  this  dismemberment,  lor  thry  were  inin 
to  the  French  in  their  hearts,  but,  feeling  their  weakness, 
without  union  among  themselves  and  distrusting  their 


254  THE  SWISS  LIFE-GUARDS.  [1T90- 

subjects  and  serfs,  they  dared  do  nothing.  The  Bernese 
patricians,  moreover,  bj  their  incautious  hospitality  to 
French  refugees,  had  incurred  the  suspicion  of  France. 
Therefore  they  were  silent  respecting  the  division  of  the 
bishopric  of  Bale,  and  dismissed  the  bishop  with  polite  and 
consolatory  speeches  when,  before  the  Diet  at  Frauenfeld, 
he  claimed  the  right  of  Swiss  neutrality  against  the  French. 
Even  when  the  people  of  the  great  city  of  Paris  stormed 
the  royal  palace,  and  after  a  bloody  fight  (10th  Aug.,  1792) 
overpowered  and  slew  the  Swiss  life-guards  who  were  in 
the  king's  pay,  not  a  man  of  the  Confederates  dared  to 
make  public  complaint. 

The  world  rang  with  arms  and  cries  of  war,  with  revo- 
lutions, battles  and  defeats.  The  French  promised  frater- 
nity and  assistance  to  every  people  who  wished  to  make 
themselves 'free.  They  beheaded  their  own  king,  Louis 
XVI.  Their  arms  advanced  victorious  through  Savoy  and 
the  Netherlands  and  over  the  Rhine.  Nearer  and  nearer 
drew  the  danger  around  the  country  of  the  Alpine  people. 

But  the  government  of  the  Confederate  states  showed  no 
foresight  in  view  of  the  danger.  They  thought  themselves 
safe  behind  the  shield  of  their  innocence  and  their  neutral- 
ity between  the  contending  parties.  They  had  no  arms 
and  prepared  none;  they  had  no  strength  and  did  not 
draw  closer  the  bands  of  their  everlasting  compact.  Each 
canton,  timidly  and  in  silence,  cared  for  its  own  safety,  but 
little  for  that  of  the  others.  Freiburg,  Berne  and  Solo- 
thurn  did,  indeed,  unite  for  mutual  defence,  not  so  much 
against  violence  and  danger  from  without  as  against  dis- 
satisfaction in  their  own  territories. 

Since  1782,  Berne  had  an  unsettled  dispute  with  Vaud 
respecting  contributions  for  the  repair  of  highways  to  the 
capital  city.  The  commune  of  Morsee  had  brought  for- 
ward documents  (1790)  to  show  that  the  whole  of  Vaud 
should  be  exempted  from  contributions.  Others  now 
claimed  other  rights  which  Berne  had  allowed  to  fall  into 
disuse  in  the  course  of  centuries.  All  kinds  of  pamphlets 
stirred  up  the  people.  At  Lausanne,  Vevey,  Rolle  and 
other  places,  fiery  young  men,  in  noisy  assemblages,  drank 
success  to  the  arms  of  emancipated  France,  Although 


-1794.]  THE  LORDS  OF  SALTS.  255 

public  order  was  nowhere  disturbed  by  such  proceedings, 
the  government  of  Berne  thought  it  necessary  to  put  a  stop 
to  them  by  severe  measures  and  to  compel  silence  by 
wholesome  fear.  They  sent  plenipotentiaries  supported  by 
an  armed  force.  The  guilty  and  even  the  innocent  were 
punished.  More  fled.  This  silenced  Vaud,  but  did  not 
quell  her  indignation.  The  fugitives  breathed  vengeance, 
By  letters  and  pamphlets  they  excited  the  hearts  of  their 
fellow-citizens  against  the  long-revered  government.  To 
be  merciful  at  the  right  moment,  to  be  firm  at  the  right 
moment,  not  to  be  haughty  in  the  possession  of  overpower- 
ing strength,  not  to  appear  cowardly  in  desperate  circum- 
stances; this  is  the  highest  and  hardest  task  of  those  in 
authority. 

This  was  often  forgotten  among  the  free  Grisons  also, 
where  the  old  popular  parties  still  quarrelled,  not  to  the 
loss  but  to  the  abuse  of  freedom.  Here  the  principal  fam- 
ilies, among  whom  that  of  the  lords  of  Salis  was  preemi- 
nent, had  long  been  in  possession  of  the  most  lucrative  offices 
and  of  the  revenues  of  the  country ;  thus,  at  a  low  rate, 
they  bought  the  most  important  magistracies  in  Valtelina, 
which  the  Grison  communes  were  accustomed  to  sell  every 
two  years  at  auction  to  the  highest  bidder,  and  in  which 
the  purchasers  usually  enriched  themselves  by  selling  right 
and  justice  to  the  subjects  ;  also,  the  offices  of  captains  and 
colonels  in  the  Grison  troops  on  foreign  service,  and  the 
Grison  tolls,  which  were  the  only  revenue  of  the  state. 

But  when  other  respectable  families  of  the  country, 
among  them  the  distinguished  Tscharners,  Bawiers  and 
Plantas,  united  to  resist  the  exclusive  possession  of  such 
great  advantages;  when  (1787)  they  raised  the  rate  of  the 
tolls-purchase  from  16,000  to  60,000  florins;  when  they 
demanded  that  the  officers  in  the  pay  of  France  should  no 
longer  be  appointed  by  favor  but  according  to  length  of 
service;  when  shortly  afterwards,  the  oppressed  subjects 
in  Valtelina  brought  forward  complaints  against  the  injus- 
tice of  their  venal  magistrates  and  the  violation  of  their  long 
acknowledged  rights ;  both  parties  became  inflamed  with 
irreconcilable  rancor  against  each  other,  They  appealed  to 
the  people. 


256  TRIUMPH  OF  THE   PLANTAS. 

When  any  evil  occurred,  each  blamed  the  other.  When 
a  French  embassador,  named  Semonville,  going  to  Venice 
through  Valtelina,  was  seized  and  delivered  to  the  Aus- 
trians  (1793),  the  Salis  party  were  accused  of  this  treachery. 
When  there  was  a  scarcity  of  corn  in  the  land,  the  Planta 
party  were  accused  of  selling  grain  to  the  French  ;  and  the 
people,  excited  against  them,  rose  (1794). 

Each  of  the  three  leagues  sent  thirty-two  men  to  Coire. 
They  formed  a  general  states-assembly  for  the  examination  of 
the  complaints.  The  Planta  party  justified  themselves,  then 
skilfully  turned  public  indignation  against  their  adversa- 
ries and  demanded  their  punishment,  together  with  the  re- 
form of  abuses.  An  impartial  tribunal  condemned  many 
of  the  original  complainants  to  fines  and  restitution,  others 
to  banishment  from  their  fatherland. 


CHAPTER  LVIII. 

HISTORY    OF   PARTIES    AND   EXCESSES    IN   GENEVA. 
[A,  D.  1T07  to  1T9T.] 

IN  the  mean  time  the  violent  war -storm  had  shaken  half 
the  world,  and  human  blood,  shed  by  the  sword  of  battles, 
had  reddened  land  and  sea.  The  allied  kings  had  sworn 
to  tame  France;  France,  to  dethrone  the  kings.  The  Con- 
federacy still  stood  unattacked,  between  the  contending 
powers,  and  with  armed  men  on  her  borders,  more  to  mark 
the  limits  of  her  territory  than  to  defend  it.  But  every 
patriot  trembled  for  the  future.  Never  were  internal  union 
and  confidence  between  people  and  governments  more  ne- 
cessary or  less  prevalent. 

In  Geneva  the  spirit  of  discontent  had  prevailed  for 
nearly  a  hundred  years.  The  grasping  ambition  of  the 
noble  families  displeased  the  people.  More  than  once  the 
city  had  witnessed  scenes  of  tumult  and  blood.  First, 
when  the  dissatisfied  citizens  complained  (1707)  that  a  few 
families  were  constantly  in  possession  of  the  highest 


-1*797.]  JEAN  JACQUES  ROUSSEAU.  257 

offices,  that  the  council  did  not  regard  .the  laws,  but  gov- 
erned arbitrarily  and  no  longer  consulted  the  commons 
on  important  matters.  The  executive  council  called  for 
Confederate  intervention,  then  for  a  garrison  from  Berne 
and  Zurich,  and,  under  the  protection  of  foreign  arms, 
caused  the  prominent  defenders  of  the  citizens'  rights  to 
be  hung,  shot,  degraded  or  banished. 

The  blood  thus  shed  terrified  and  embittered  the  citizens, 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  so  increased  the  self-confident 
boldness  of  the  council,  that  they  felt  no  hesitation  in 
trampling  under  foot  the  ancient  constitution  of  the  re- 
public, or  even  in  arbitrarily  increasing  the  taxes  for  the 
purpose  of  strengthening  the  city-fortifications.  Michael 
Ducrest,  one  of  the  great  council,  protested  against  this, 
and  carried  all  the  citizens  with  him.  The  council  con- 
demned him  to  perpetual  imprisonment  (1731)  and  Berne, 
under  whose  protection  Geneva  had  placed  herself,  exe- 
cuted the  sentence  on  him  at  Aarburg.  More  than  once 
insurrections  took  place;  more  than  once  Zurich  and  Berne 
interfered.  Peace  was  not  restored.  The  rancor  and  bit- 
terness of  parties  increased.  There  were  even  bloody  con- 
flicts between  them  in  the  streets  (1737).  Finally  (1738), 
delegates  from  France,  Berne  and  Zurich  having  limited 
the  pretensions  of  the  executive  council  and  of  the  princi- 
pal families,  and  wisely  regulated  many  other  matters,  in 
an  edict  which  was  approved  by  the  council  and  citizens, 
peace  seemed  to  be  reestablished. 

But,  when  (1762)  the  executive  council  ordered  two 
books  written  by  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau,  a  philosopher 
of  Geneva,  to  be  torn  by  the  hangman,  and  some  of  the 
citizens  presented  a  remonstrance  which  the  counci^  re- 
fused to  receive,  fresh  hate  showed  itself  in  fresh  parties. 
One  party  called  themselves  Representatives  and  said : 
"The  executive  council  ought  to  receive  all  complaints 
against  their  own  proceedings,  and  submit  them  to  the 
general  assembly  of  the  citizens  for  their  decision ;"  the 
others  called  themselves  Negatives,  were  supporters  of 
the  government,  and  said:  "No,  the  citizens'  assembly 
have  no  right  of  control  over  the  council."  The  dispute 
on  these  matters  gave  rise  to  disputes  on  a  hundred  others, 

x* 


258  REPRESENTATIVES  AND  NEGATIVES.  [1707- 

and  there  was  no  end  to  the  disorders  and  riotous  meet- 
ings, until  Berne,  Zurich  and  France  proposed  to  inter- 
vene once  more.  In  order  to  prevent  foreign  interference, 
the  council  and  citizens  quickly  came  to  an  agreement 
(1768),  and  the  government  granted  to  the  citizens  the 
right  of  choosing  one  half  of  the  new  members  at  each 
renewal  of  the  great  council,  and  of  yearly  deposing  four 
members  of  the  little  council,  who  should  not  be  ree'ligi- 
ble ;  and  many  other  rights  also,  A  reform  in  the  code 
of  laws  was  also  promised ;  and  additional  freedom  in  the 
exercise  of  their  trades  granted  to  those  native-born  in- 
habitants whose  fathers  bad  been  long  established  in 
Geneva,  and  had  always  been  zealous  in  support  of  the 
citizens'  party,  while  some  of  them  might  yearly  be 
elevated  to  the  rights  of  citizenship  by  the  government. 

This  agreement,  however,  was  of  short  duration,  because 
it  had  its  origin  in  fear  only,  not  in  good  feeling.  The 
anger  of  the  governing  families  was  excited  at  having 
yielded  so  much.  They  wished  again  to  become  all-pow- 
erful ;  delayed  the  reform  of  the  laws ;  sought  the  assist- 
ance of  the  French  court,  and  half  withdrew  the  promise 
made  to  the  native  inhabitants.  And  the  French  minister 
Vergennes,  who  was  jealous  of  the  thriving  industry  of 
Geneva  and  wished  to  draw  it,  by  emigration,  into  France, 
took  part  in  the  quarrel.  By  fine  promises,  he  stirred  up 
the  Negatives  and  those  numerous  inhabitants  who  deem- 
ing themselves  entitled  to  citizenship  by  right  of  birth 
thought  they  were  defrauded  of  their  privileges  by  the 
old  citizens,  against  the  Representative  and  peoples-party, 
and  persuaded  them  to  make  riots  in  hopes  of  getting  the 
mastery.  When  the  Representative-party  perceived  this, 
they  seized  their  arms,  secured  the  gates,  and  disarmed  the 
Negatives.  But  they  were  so  prudent  that,  in  order  to 
gain  over  all  the  native  inhabitants,  they  renewed  the 
promises  formerly  made  respecting  new  citizenship,  and 
granted  to  the  new  citizens  nearly  the  same  privileges 
with  the  old.  This  agreement  was  confirmed  by  an  edict 
passed  10th  February,  1781. 

This  stroke  of  policy  vexed  the  governing  families  and 
their  party,  the  Negatives,  as  well  as  the  Fivr-b,  court. 


-1797.]  FOREIGN   INTERFERENCE.  259 

The  latter,  in  order  to  produce  fear,  sent  six  hundred  men 
to  Versoy,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  city.  But  Zurich 
and  Berne  were  offended  thereat ;  for  the  armed  guaranty 
of  the  treaty  of  1738  did  not  belong  to  France.  The  Con- 
federates declared  themselves  relieved  from  that  guaranty. 
When  France  knew  this,  she  also  would  have  no  more  to 
do  with  it.  Thus  the  Genevese  were  left  free  to  settle 
their  quarrels  among  themselves. 

As  all  parties  were  equally  accusers  and  judges,  and  the 
government  pertinaciously  strove  to  win  back  their  former 
authority  by  force  and  fraud,  the  hatred  of  the  old  and 
new  citizens  broke  forth  into  fresh  flame.  The  govern- 
ment secretly  distributed  grenades  among  the  soldiers  of 
the  garrison.  But  the  citizens,  old  and  new,  stormed  the 
city -gates  ;  many  soldiers  were  killed  ;  the  little  and  great 
councils  deposed  and  a  new  one  chosen  from  the  Kepre- 
sentative-party.  Many  members  of  the  old  government 
fled.  But  France  and  Berne  said :  "  "We  will  not  allow  a 
government  to  be  deposed  by  rebels."  The  king  of  Sar- 
dinia was  also  persuaded  to  assist  in  restoring  the  old 
government.  Then  French,  Savoyard  and  Bernese  troops, 
twelve  thousand  strong,  appeared  before  the  city  (May, 
1782).  Zurich  did  not  interfere.  Geneva,  divided  against 
herself,  soon  opened  her  gates. 

Now  France,  supported  by  Berne,  gave  the  law ;  the  old 
government  was  reinstated  with  full  power;  the  party  of 
the  Negatives  triumphed  and  the  common  citizens  lost 
many  of  their  long-enjoyed  privileges.  When  the  citizens 
were  required  to  confirm  this,  barely  six  hundred  were  al- 
lowed to  vote ;  the  rest  were  excluded  because  they  had 
taken  part  in  the  last  insurrection.  But,  even  of  the  vo- 
ters, there  were  one  hundred  and  thirteen  men  who  refused 
to  assent  to  this  extinction  of  Genevese  liberty. 

The  government,  protected  by  Berne,  Sardinia  and 
France,  at  once  forbade  all  close  societies,  all  military  ex- 
ercises on  the  part  of  the  citizens,  all  books  and  pamphlets 
on  recent  events,  and,  on  the  departure  of  the  foreign 
troops,  increased  the  garrison  to  twelve  hundred  men,  com- 
manded by  foreign  officers.  Thus  were  the  Genevese  re- 
duced to  subjection.  Many  emigrated  with  hearts  full  of 


260  RISING  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  [1707- 

yengeance  against  their  oppressors.  Five  and  twenty  of 
the  vanquished  Representative -party  were  banished  forever 
or  for  limited  times;  those  clergy  who  had  taken  part  in 
the  matter  were  deposed  from  their  cures. 

Injustice  never  thrives,  and  the  love  of  precious  liberty 
is  not  extinguished  by  condemnations  of  books  or  by  bay- 
onets. When  the  government  raised  the  price  of  bread  on 
the  oppressed  citizens  (Jan.,  1789),  the  long- restrained 
hatred  of  the  people  burst  forth.  The  citizens  armed  them- 
selves as  well  as  they  could  against  the  hireling  garrison, 
filled  the  fire-engines  with  boiling  water  and  put  to  flight 
the  satellites  of  the  government.  Thereat  the  rulers  were 
terrified,  reestablished  the  previous  price  of  bread,  prom- 
ised to  improve  the  constitution,  to  diminish  the  garrison, 
to  restore  arms  to  the  citizens,  to  remove  the  most  onerous 
taxes,  and  to  raise  to  the  privileges  of  old  citizenship  such 
families  of  new  citizens  as  had  been  established  in  Geneva 
for  four  generations.  All  this  was  done.  Berne  and  Zu- 
rich were  persuaded  to  renew  their  ancient  confederate 
alliance  with  Geneva,  and  joy  prevailed. 

The  government  united  the  more  firmly  and  willingly 
with  the  citizens,  because  they  could  hope  for  no  help  from 
France,  where  the  people  had  risen  against  their  king. 
But  fresh  disturbances  took  place.  These  were  occasioned 
by  the  peasants  in  'the  villages  which  were  dependent  on 
Geneva  and  subject  to  the  city,  as  well  as  by  the  native  vas- 
sals and  foreign  inhabitants  of  the  city,  who  demanded  an 
equality  of  rights  (Feb.,  1791).  They  more  than  once  came 
to  blows  on  this  quarrel,  but  the  citizens  firmly  upheld  the 
government.  Nevertheless  the  excitement  increased.  Some 
of  the  former  emigrants  or  exiled  burghers  of  the  city  who 
were  established  in  France,  wished  to  avenge  themselves 
and  effect  the  union  of  Geneva  with  France.  The  French 
resident  minister  at  Geneva,  Chateauneuf,  also  made  a  party 
with  this  object,  and  underhandedly  persuaded  the  peas- 
ants and  subject-inhabitants  to  rise  against  the  govern- 
ment and  privileged  citizens.  All  must  have  equal  rights. 
The  people  were  also  told  that  the  rich  should  be  plundered. 

At  this  very  time,  the  French  army,  intended  for  Savoy 
and  Italy,  approached  the  city  (Sept.,  1792),  and  Geneva, 


-1797.]  REVOLUTIONARY  MISRULE.  261 

in  great  terror,  implored  the  assistance  of  Berne  and  Zu- 
rich, according  to  treaty.  They  immediately  sent  auxilia- 
ries, but  quickly  withdrew  them,  when  the  French  army 
retired  and  the  government  of  France  uttered  threats.  As 
soon  as  the  troops  were  withdrawn,  the  non-privileged  new 
citizens  and  inhabitants  and  the  peasants  armed  themselves 
and  seized  the  arsenal  (Dec.,  1792).  There  were  many 
dissatisfied  old  citizens  with  them.  In  a  forced  general 
assembly  of  the  commons,  they  deposed  the  great  and  little 
councils,  and  instead  of  these  elected  a  committee  of  public 
safety,  a  committee  of  government  and  a  national  conven- 
tion, like  the  French,  with  legislative  powers.  Then  all 
order  was  at  an  end.  Eioters  and  brawlers  ruled.  Who- 
ever held  not  with  them  was  called  an  aristocrat.  Eight 
and  justice  disappeared.  Party-hate  raged.  And,  as  in 
France,  the  populace,  greedy  of  blood  and  plunder,  at 
last  obtained  the  ascendancy,  so  they  were  masters  also  in 
the  unhappy  city  of  Geneva,  and  committed  the  greatest 
excesses.  There  was  no  more  quiet  or  safety. 

The  party  of  the  so-called  Revolutionists,  entirely  to  de- 
stroy the  party  of  the  aristocrats,  finally,  on  a  summer's 
night  (July,  1794),  took  possession  of  the  heavy  artillery 
and  of  the  whole  city  ;  cast  into  prison  many  of  the  formerly 
most  respected  citizens,  magistrates  and  men  of  letters :  or- 
ganised a  court  by  which  sixty  of  these  were  sentenced  to 
be  executed,  others  to  be  banished,  the  property  of  many 
to  be  confiscated  and  the  rest  punished  in  various  ways. 
These  persecutions  lasted,  with  some  intervals,  for  two 
years,  during  which  those  who  had  seized  the  government 
wasted  and  consumed  a  large  portion  of  the  property  of  the 
state  and  of  the  plundered  citizens. 

When,  however,  the  people  in  France  had  become  more 
quiet  and  the  republican  government  itself  more  humane, 
in  Geneva  also  an  intolerable  fear  of  anarchy  took  posses- 
sion of  both  parties.  This  united  all  honest  men  who  de- 
sired order.  Then  disorder  ceased.  The  exiles  came 
back.  A  new  constitution,  with  recognition  of  state-citi- 
zenship and  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  was  established 
(1795),  according  to  which  all  old  and  new  citizens,  all  old 
and  new  inhabitants  of  city  and  country,  born  on  Genevan 


262  RESTORATION   OF   ORDER.  [1794- 

territory,  enjoyed  equal  rights.  Peace  and  harmony  once 
more  prevailed.  Geneva  found  some  quiet  after  long 
storms,  but  only  for  a  short  time. 


CHAPTER    LIX. 

OF  THE  ANCIENT  DISTRICT  OF 'ST.  GALLEN  AND  THE  WISE  ABBOT 
BEDA  J  HOW  DISTURBANCES  ALSO  BROKE  FORTH  ON  THE  LAKE  OF 
ZURICH. 

[A.  D.  1794  to  179T.] 

THE  general  war  of  the  kings  and  princes  against  the 
French  people  grew  in  the  mean  while  ever  more  furious, 
ever  more  near.  Among  the  Swiss  mountains  could  be 
heard  the  thunder  of  cannon  from  Italy,  from  Suabia,  from 
the  Rhine.  But  the  rulers  of  the  Confederates  seemed  not 
to  apprehend  the  danger  which  always  threatens  the  weak 
placed  between  powerful  neighbors. 

The  banners  of  France  waved  victorious  through  Savoy 
and  the  Netherlands,  through  Lorraine  and  Holland,  and 
over  the  soil  of  Germany.  Wherever  they  appeared, 
princes,  counts  and  nobles  fled  in  terror,  and  liberty  was 
proclaimed  to  the  subject-people.  The  magistrates  of  the 
cantons  barely  restrained  their  hatred  and  contempt  of  the 
conquerors ;  they  sat  in  proud  security,  although  the  agi-  " 
tation  grew  more  violent  about  them  day  by  day,  and 
many  of  their  people  desired  more  freedom. 

In.  the  ancient  district  of  the  abbot  of  St.  Gallen,  also, 
the  people  rose  against  the  domination  of  the  convent. 
For  they  could  no  longer  bear  to  be  deprived  of  their 
rights,  and  to  be  oppressed  by  new  and  extraordinary 
.charges,  duties  and  burdens  of  the  severest  servitude,  by 
means  of  which  the  monastery  grew  constantly  richer  and 
increased  its  domains,  while  the  ecclesiastics  and  officers 
of  the  abbey  contributed  nothing  towards  the  imposts. 

Five  communes  of  the  district  took  courage  and  deliber- 
ated together  respecting  the  just  complaints  they  should 
lay  before  the  abbot.  Soon  the  whole  bailiwick  of  Ober- 


-1797.]  JOHN  KUNZLI.  268 

berg  joined  them.  The  crowd  of  those  who,  with  or 
without  reason,  had  complaints  to  make,  increased  daily, 
so  that  the  number  of  public  grievances  amounted  to  sixty. 
Thereon  the  communes  assembled,  chose  committees,  and 
held  council  at  Gossau  (March,  1795).  At  their  head  was 
a  talented,  eloquent  and  courageous  man,  John  Kunzli. 
He  conducted  every  thing  with  great  prudence.  All  the 
communes  signed  the  paper  in  which  their  grievances 
were  detailed  and  presented  it  to  the  abbot. 

The  abbot  and  prince,  Beda  Angehrn,  was  a  wise  and 
good  man.  He  well  knew  the'  misery  of  the  poor  people, 
for  he  was  himself  the  son  of  a  subject  of  the  abbey,  from 
the  village  of  Hagenwyl  in  Thurgau.  He  would  gladly 
have  relieved  the  oppressed  people ;  but  of  all  the  ecclesi- 
astics of  the  abbey  only  two  thought  like  him.  The  others 
were  angry  with  the  people  and  said  :  "  This  is  the  French 
freedom-madness  1  If  the  people  will  not  be  silent,  we 
must  call  for  assistance  on  the  governments  of  the  Confed- 
erates, who  have  already  frequently  helped  us  against  our 
subjects."  And  they  opposed  the  wise  Beda,  and  so 
troubled  his  life,  that  he  had  already,  at  an  earlier  time 
(1788),  determined  to  abdicate.  But  then  pope  Pius  YI. 
refused  his  permission,  and  in  a  severe  letter  (16th  Aug., 
1788)  commanded  the  chapter  to  desist.  The  ecclesiastical 
lords  designedly  prolonged  the  discussion  in  order  to  tire 
out  the  people. 

When  the  prince-abbot  perceived  their  subtlety,  he  said 
to  the  monks :  "  This  is  not  the  time  for  rulers  and  sub- 
jects to  be  at  variance ;  they  should  be  united  when  dan- 
ger and  misery  threaten  from  abroad.  Therefore,  if  you 
persist  in  repelling  the  people,  I  will  throw  myself  alone 
into  their  arms." 

And  he  did  so,  gave  to  the  people  great  privileges  (Nov., 
1795),  the  right  to  choose  the  land-  and  war-councils,  to 
hold  assemblies  of  the  communes,  to  nominate  their  muni- 
cipal officers,  and  to  buy  themselves  free  from  the  charges  to 
which  they  had  hitherto  been  subject.  He  abolished  ser- 
vitude, and  decreed  that  the  ecclesiastics  and  officers  should 
also  bear  their  share  of  the  imposts,  and  that  the  abbey 
should  purchase  no  more  real  estate.  This  brought  great 


264  LAVATER  AND  FUSSLI.  [1794- 

joy  into  the  land,  and  blessings  were  showered  on  the  wise 
Beda.  Soon,  the  monks  of  the  abbey  assented  to  the 
agreement  which  had  been  sworn  to  by  the  people  and 
prince ;  but  only  in  appearance.  So  deceitful  were  they, 
that  almost  in  the  same  hour  (20th  January,  1796)  they 
drew  up  and  signed  a  secret  reservation  of  rights  against 
their  rebellious  subjects,  as  they  called  the  people.  They 
thought  they  could  thereby  annul  their  official  act,  ana, 
under  more  favorable  circumstances,  take  back  all  they 
had  granted.  The  Confederates,  also,  protectors  of  the 
abbey,  in  their  hearts  disapproved  the  kindness  of  the 
pious  prince  towards  his  subjects.  However,  they  finally 
(August,  1797)  ratified  his  doings,  because  they  could  not 
prevent  them. 

About  the  same  time  similar  movements  took  place 
among  the  peasants  on  both  sides  of  the  lake  of  Zurich,  as 
they  were  anxious  to  revive  their  ancient  rights.  But 
this  undertaking  resulted  in  great  suffering  and  ruin. 

Zurich  had  indeed  always  governed  with  justice  and 
prudence  the  subject-communes  of  her  territory,  held  them 
in  respectful  submission,  and  by  a  wise  administration 
caused  the  country  to  flourish.  Seldom  had  the  subjects 
to  complain  of  acts  of  severity  or  violence,  or  of  injustice 
on  the  part  of  venal  magistrates.  Since  two  virtuous 
burghers  of  the  city,  John  Caspar  Lavater  and  Henry 
Fussli,  had  once  (1762)  publicly  accused  Felix  Grebel,  the 
wicked  bailiff  of  Gruningen,  of  injustice,  and  he  had  been 
compelled  to  leave  his  country  in  disgrace,  no  one  had 
dared  to  follow  in  his  footsteps. 

But  other  grievances  distressed  the  country,  and  espe- 
cially the  industrious  inhabitants  on  the  borders  of  the 
lake ;  these  were  the  severe  restraints  of  the  trades-corpo- 
rations and  the  monopoly  of  commerce  by  the  capital-city. 
For  only  the  most  indispensable  handiwork  could  be  ex- 
?  ercised  by  the  peasants  in  the  villages,  and  no  commerce 
was  allowed  except  in  wine  and  grain ;  the  numerous  cot- 
ton-weavers were  obliged  to  buy  their  raw  material  in  the 
city  and  there  to  sell  their  cloth  when  manufactured. 
Even  what  they  wove  for  the  use  of  their  own  families 
must  first  be  sold  to  the  citizens  and  again  purchased  after 


-1797.]  THE  PEOPLE  OF  STAFA. 

it  had  been  bleached  and  printed.  Ecclesiastical  and  civil 
offices  were  closed  to  the  country -people  and  rilled  by 
citizens'  sons  only.  The  son  of  the  country-man,  confined 
to  the  plough  and  the  pruning-hook,  or  to  day-labor  in  the 
city,  could  never  raise  himself  from  the  dust. 

But  when  the  French  people,  triumphant  in  their  free- 
dom, no  longer  acknowledged  anv  distinction  between 
peasant  and  noble,  between  city  and  country,  many  of  the 
people  on  lake  Zurich  were  excited  by  this  example,  and 
said  among  themselves:  "Why  is  it  not  so  with  us? 
While  we  are  called  free  Swiss,  we  are  in  subjection  to 
the  city.  We  are  like  the  slaves  in  many  countries." 
And  their  excitement  was  increased  by  such  talk.  Some 
men  of  the  village  of  Stafa  on  the  lake  disseminated  their 
opinions  respecting  the  eternal  rights  of  mankind  and  re- 
specting the  subjection  of  the  country-people  to  the  city, 
and  thought  that  Zurich  ought  at  last  to  yield  greater 
freedom  to  her  subjects.  They  drew  up  a  memorial  to  be 
presented  to  the  government,  in  which  they  asked  for 
freedom  of  trade  and  commerce,  equal  rights  to  employ- 
ment and  office  for  the  country-man  as  well  as  the  citizen, 
permission  to  purchase  ground-rents  and  many  other  things 
(1794).  But  what  they  requested  could  not  be  granted 
without  the  abolition  of  centuries-old  guilds  and  corpora- 
tions, and  the  abrogation  of  the  ancient  constitution  of 
Zurich  as  an  imperial  city,  to  maintain  which  an  oath  was 
taken  every  year. 

When  this  memorial  was  sent  from  commune  to  com- 
mune for  approval,  and  received  everywhere  with  accla- 
mation, the  city  learnt  the  proceedings  of  the  people  on 
the  lake.  Immediately  all  those  who  had  shown  them- 
selves most  active  were  seized  and  punished  with  the 
greatest  rigor,  as  fomenters  of  a  revolt,  some  by  banish- 
ment from  the  Confederacy,  many  others  by  fines  and  de- 
privation of  civil  rights  (13th  January,  1795). 

The  punishment  of  so  many  malcontents  did  not  dimi- 
nish, but  rather  increased,  the  number.  Then  some  lords 
of  the  council  in  Zurich  promised  them :  "  If  you  can  show 
charters  and  seals  to  prove  your  right  to  privileges  which 
you  do  not  enjoy,  we  will  gladly  help  you." 

12  v 


266  THE  LAKE-COMMUNES.  [lT94- 

Thereat,  in  the  annual  general  assembly  of  Stafa  (May, 
1795)  four  of  the  oldest  men  came  forward  and  said :  "  It 
was  told  us  by  our  fathers  that  in  the  archives  of  the 
commune  existed  documents  and  charters  which  assured 
to  the  people  privileges  that  have  been  neglected  in  the 
lapse  of  ages.  Let  us  search  for  and  examine  them." 
Although  the  secretary  and  bailiff  forbade  every  one  even 
'  to  speak  of  such  documents  and  charters,  the  people  would 
not  be  prevented.  And  they  found  in  a  mill  the  perpetual 
covenant  made  in  1489,  on  the  day  of  burgomaster  Wald- 
mann's  execution,  between  city  and  country,  before  the 
tribunal  of  the  Confederates.  This  covenant,  which  had 
never  been  annulled,  and  which  was  solemnly  guaranteed 
by  seven  confederate  cantons,  established  general  freedom 
of  trade  and  commerce.  They  also  found  a  document  ex- 
ecuted by  the  burgomaster,  council  and  Two-hundred  of 
Zurich  in  favor  of  the  country,  after  the  troubles  of  the 
war  of  Kappel  (1532).  Thereby  all  former  privileges 
were  reaffirmed  and  even  a  participation  in  the  govern- 
ment granted. 

Then  the  communes  of  Stafa  and  Kussnacht,  Horgen, 
Thalwyl,  Ehrlibach  and  others,  sent  their  deputies  to  the 
bailiffs  and  magistrates,  respectfully  asking:  "If  these 
documents  had  been  annulled  by  later  ordinances,  or  were 
still  in  force  ?"  But  the  deputies  were  sent  back,  and  the 
government  of  Zurich  would  neither  confess  nor  deny  the 
validity  of  the  ancient  documents,  because  both  courses 
seemed  equally  dangerous.  The  proceedings  of  the  lake- 
communes  were  treated  as  culpably  seditious,  and  they 
were  summoned  to  the  city  to  answer. 

But  when  those  who  were  summoned  did  not  appear, 
and,  to  excuse  their  disobedience,  the  communes,  especially 
Stafa,  declared :  "  We  have  given  to  no  one  authority  to 
treat  for  us  in  these  matters :  but  we  request  that  these 
public  interests  of  the  country  may  be  discussed  with  our- 
selves," the  city  became  very  angry.  She  x  armed  her 
troops.  All  communication  with  Stafa  was  cut  off.  Many 
natives  of  that  place  were  driven  from  the  capital.  And 
one  Sunday  morning  (5th  July,  1795)  when  the  people  of 
Stafa  were  assembled  in  church  to  worship  God,  the  Zu- 


-1Y97.]  TREASURER  BODMER.  267 

richers  with  twenty-five  hundred  men  and  heavy  artillery, 
entered  the  peaceful  village. 

Then  Zurich  published  this  declaration :  "  All  your 
documents  and  charters  are  null  and  void.  For  one  of 
them  was  granted  at  a  period  when  all  lawful  authority 
was  suspended,  and  was  assented  to  by  the  seven  confed- 
erate cantons  only  to  prevent  greater  evils.  The  other 
was  intended  merely  for  peculiar  times  and  circumstances, 
and  was  completed  and  ended  with  them.  We  do  not  find 
that  a  single  provision  of  either  document  has  been  ful- 
filled during  the  space  of  three  hundred  years,  or  that  such 
non-fulfilment  has  given  rise  to  any  complaint  on  the  part 
of  the  country." 

So  said  Zurich.  The  seven  confederate  cantons,  wit- 
nesses and  guarantors  of  the  thus  annulled  covenant,  were 
appealed  to  by  the  lake-communes.  They  were  all  silent. 
Glarus  alone,  faithful  to  the  engagement  of  her  fathers, 
exhorted  Zurich  to  trust  to  justice  rather  than  force,  as  no 
other  security  can  be  so  great  for  a  state  as  the  confidence 
felt  by  every  part  in  the  enjoyment  of  just  rights. 

Stafa,  disarmed  and  surrounded  by  bayonets,  was 
obliged  solemnly  to  swear  the  old  oath  of  submission.  All 
who  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  matter  of  communal 
rights  were  punished  in  various  ways :  some  with  perpet- 
ual, others  with  ten  or  twenty  years'  imprisonment ;  some 
with .  the  house  of  correction,  others  with  banishment; 
some  with  stripes,  others  with  heavy  fines.  The  commune 
of  Stafa,  although  it  had  borne  for  several  months  the 
expenses  of  a  military  occupation,  was  still  obliged  to  pay 
78,000  florins  for  costs.  One  of  the  oldest  and  most  re- 
spected citizens,  the  grey-haired  treasurer  Bodmer,  was  led 
to  the  scaffold  in  Zurich  and  the  sword  of  the  executioner 
brandished  over  his  head,  in  token  that  he  deserved  death, 
because  he  had  first  insisted  on  the  search  after  the  docu- 
ments. Then  he  was  carried  back  to  prison,  being  sen- 
tenced to  remain  there  during  his  life. 

Thenceforward  the  silence  of  terror  prevailed  in  the 
country,  and  the  thirst  for  vengeance  in  all  hearts. 


268  NAPOLEON  BUONAPARTE.  [1797- 


CHAPTER  LX. 

DESTRUCTION    OF    THE    OLD    CONFEDERACY.       ENTRANCE    OF   THE 
FRENCH    INTO    THE    LAND. 

[A.  D.  179T  and  179&] 

IN  foreign  countries  dwelt  sadly  many  of  those  who,  at 
various  times,  had  been  banished  from  the  Confederacy 
because  they  had,  by  word  or  deed,  too  boldly  or  impor- 
tunately defended  the  rights  and  freedom  of  their  fellow- 
citizens.  Several  of  these  addressed  the  chiefs  of  the  French 
republic,  and,  with  vengeance  in  their  hearts,  said  :  "  Those 
who  now  rule  the  thirteen  cantons  of  the  Confederacy 
have  driven  us  from  our  fatherland ;  they  are  your  ene- 
mies, as  well  as  ours,  in  the  cause  of  freedom.  They  pre- 
fer to  have  subjects  rather  than  fellow-citizens,  and  think 
themselves  little  kings  and  princes.  Therefore  they  se- 
cretly assist  kings  and  princes  against  you.  Help  the 
Swiss  people  to  recover  their  lost  liberty ;  they  call  you, 
and  await  you  with  open  arms.  Free  men  are  the  truest 
allies  of  the  free." 

Such  addresses  pleased  the  chiefs  of  France.  They 
thought  in  their  hearts  that  Switzerland  would  be  an  ex- 
cellent bulwark  for  France,  and  a  desirable  gate,  through 
which  the  way  would  be  always  open  to  Italy  and  Ger- 
many. They  also  knew  of  and  longed  for  the  treasures 
of  the  Swiss  cities.  And  they  endeavored  to  find  cause 
of  quarrel  with  the  magistrates  of  the  Confederates.  But 
the  latter  warily  avoided  giving  offence,  acknowledged 
the  free  French  constitution,  and  drove  away  from  their 
territory  the  unfortunate  princes,  priests  and  nobles  who 
had  fled  from  the  rage  of  the  French  people  and  found 
shelter  in  the  Swiss  valleys. 

Shortly  afterwards,  came  the  great  general  Napoleon 
Buonaparte,  and  marched  through  Savoy  into  Italy  against 
the  forces  of  the  emperor.  At  this  time,  only  the  emperor, 
with  the  German  empire  and  the  English,  struggled  against 
France,  as  the  kings  of  Spain  and  Prussia  had  already 


-1798.]  THE  CISALPINE  REPUBLIC.  269 

made  peace  with  her.  And  in  a  very  few  months,  though 
in  many  battles,  Buonaparte  vanquished  the  whole  power 
of  Austria,  conquered  and  terrified  Italy  from  one  end  to 
the  other,  took  the  whole  of  Lombardy  and  compelled  the 
emperor  to  make  peace.  He  made  Lombardy  a  republic, 
called  the  Cisalpine. 

When  the  subjects  of  Orisons  in  Yaltelina,  Chiavenna 
and  Bormio  saw  this,  they  preferred  to  be  citizens  of  the 
neighboring  Cisalpine  republic,  rather  than  poor  subjects 
of  Grisons.  For  their  many  grievances  and  complaints 
were  rarely  listened  to.  But  Buonaparte  said  to  Grisons : 
"  If  you  will  give  freedom  and  equal  rights  to  these  peo- 
ple, they  may  be  your  fellow-citizens,  and  still  remain  with 
you.  I  give  you  time ;  decide  and  send  word  to  me  at 
Milan." 

But  the  parties  of  masters  in  Grisons  could  not  agree, 
and  many  of  the  Salis  faction  said :  "  Let  the  people  of 
Valtelina  remain  with  us  as  subjects,  or  not  at  all."  Now 
when  the  last  period  for  decision  had  passed,  Buonaparte 
became  indignant  and  impatient,  and  united  Valtelina, 
Chiavenna  and  Bormio  to  the  Cisalpine  republic  (22d  Oct., 
1797).  All  the  property  of  the  Grisons  in  those"  countries 
was  immediately  seized  and  confiscated.  Thus  many  rich 
families  in  Grisons  were  made  poor. 

So  the  old  limits  of  Switzerland  were  unjustly  con- 
tracted ;  four  weeks  afterwards  also,  that  part  of  the  bish- 
opric of  Bale  which  had  hitherto  been  respected  on  account 
of  its  alliance  with  the  Swiss,  was  added  to  France.  There- 
at great  fear  fell  on  the  Confederates.  But  still  greater 
misfortunes  awaited  them.  For  the  country-people  in  the 
canton  of  Bale  murmured  loudly  against  the  city  ;  in  Aar- 
gau  several  cities  reclaimed  their  old  acknowledged  priv- 
ileges from  Berne,  and  Vaud  demanded  her  lost  rights 
with  more  energy  than  ever.  Then  the  rumor  spread  that 
a  French  army  was  approaching  the  frontiers  of  Switzer- 
land to  protect  the  people  of  Vaud.  They  had  called  for 
the  intervention  of  France  in  virtue  of  ancient  treaties. 
But  report  said  that  the  French  intended  to  overthrow  the 
Confederate  authorities  and  to  make  themselves  masters 
of  the  country. 


270  UNIVERSAL  CONFUSION.  [1797- 

Berne  and  Freiburg  immediately  raised  troops  to  terrify 
Vaud  and  Aargau,  and  reduce  them  to  silence  by  force  of 
arms.  A  Diet  hastily  assembled  at  Aarau.  There  was  a 
great  deal  of  talk,  but  no  decision,  because  the  Confederate 
cantons  could  not  trust  each  other  or  their  own  people. 
This  was  a  great  misfortune,  but  did  not  date  from  that 
day.  With  a  presentiment  of  the  general  ruin,  the  lords 
of  the  Diet  at  Aarau  once  more  renewed  the  old  oath  of 
union  (25th  Jan.,  1798),  but  without  the  confidence  or  en- 
thusiasm of  their  heroic  ancestors.  Hardly  had  they  sworn 
when  a  messenger  came  from  Bale  and  said :  "  Six  hun- 
dred men  from  the  country  have  entered  our  city;  the 
castles  of  the  bailiffs  are  in  flames ;  all  subjects  are  declared 
free."  Then  terror  seized  the  lords  of  the  Diet ;  they  dis- 
persed immediately  and  in  fear. 

Then  there  was  great  agitation  throughout  Switzerland, 
when  men  saw  the  fear  and  weakness  of  the  magistrates, 
and  with  these,  their  opposition  to  the  wishes  of  the  peo- 
ple. In  Schaff hausen  and  in  Rheinthal,  in  Toggenburg, 
in  the  March,  in  Wesen  and  Uznach,  committees  of  the 
peasants  met,  to  help  themselves.  The  Italian  bailiwicks 
beyond  the  Alps  planted  a  tree  of  liberty  on  the  bank  of 
the  Ticino,  with  rebellious  hands.  Almost  the  whole  Con- 
federacy was  in  a  state  of  confusion  and  dissolution.  The 
governments  of  the  cantons,  powerless,  distrustful  and  di- 
vided, acted  each  for  itself,  without  concert.  The  people 
of  each  district  acted  also  for  themselves,  but  with  various 
wishes  and  intentions.  Some,  ignorant  and  rude,  could 
not  comprehend  the  spirit  of  the  age,  and  wished  to  main- 
tain the  accustomed  order  of  things.  Others,  with  more 
information  and  insight,  desired  equality  of  rights  between 
city  and  country.  Others  claimed  only  the  restoration  of 
privileges  formerly  guaranteed.  Many  thought  that  noth- 
ing could  be  secured  without  the  assistance  of  France ;  but 
the  majority  of  all  the  people  justly  deprecated  the  inter- 
ference of  a  foreign  power  in  the  affairs  of  their  fatherland. 

In  the  mean  while  a  large  army  of  French  advanced. 
Under  their  generals  Brune  and  Schauenberg,  they  entered 
the  territory  of  the  Confederates,  and  Vaud,  accepting  for- 
eign protection,  declared  herself  independent  of  Berne. 


-1798.]  VAIN  RESISTANCE.  271 

Then  the  governments  of  Switzerland  felt  that  they  could 
no  longer  maintain  their  former  dominion.  Lucerne  and 
Schaffhausen  declared  their  subjects  free  and  united  to 
themselves.  Zurich  released  the  prisoners  of  Stafa,  and 
promised  to  ameliorate  her  constitution  to  the  advantage 
of  the  people.  A  thousand  bonfires  blazed  on  hill  and 
valley  along  the  lake  of  Zurich,  when  grey-haired  Bodmer, 
with  his  fellow-sufferers,  returned  home  from  the  city- 
prisons.  Never  in  Switzerland  was  living  man  received 
with  such  solemn  honors  by  his  people.  Even  Freiburg 
now  felt  that  the  change  must  come  for  which  Chenaur  had 
bled.  And  the  council  of  Berne  received  into  their  num- 
ber fifty-two  representatives  of  the  country,  and  said: 
"  Let  us  hold  together  in  the  common  danger." 

All  these  reforms  and  revolutions  were  the  work  of  four 
weeks ;  all  too  late.  Berne,  indeed,  with  Freiburg  and 
Solothurn,  opposed  her  troops  to  the  advancing  French 
army.  Courage  was  not  wanting;  but  discipline,  skill  in 
arms  and  experienced  officers.  From  Grlarus,  Lucerne,  the 
Waldstatten  and  other  cantons  came  feeble  help ;  also  the 
landsturm,  variously  armed,  in  tumultuous  hordes,  telling 
their  beads.  But  this  troop  fled  at  the  first  bad  news, 
without  having  seen  an  enemy.  Then  the  Swiss  and  their 
rulers,  in  their  inmost  hearts,  regretted  that  they  had  un- 
learned the  art  of  arms  and  war,  and  in  the  days  of  peace 
had  believed  that  it  must  last  forever.  Now  neither  the 
gold  of  their  treasure-chambers,  nor  pomp,  nor  pride  in 
long  titles  of  nobility  availed  them ;  nor  prayer  nor  rosary. 
Heaven  helps  only  those  who  march  joyously  to  battle  and 
to  death  in  a  just  cause ;  but  rejects  those  who  sit  slug- 
gishly in  arrogant  security. 

On  the  very  first  day  of  the  war  (2d  March,  1798),  the 
enemy's  light  troops  took  Freiburg  and  Solothurn,  and 
on  the  fourth  (5th  March),  Berne  itself.  In  vain  did  the 
Bernese  make  a  victorious  resistance  near  Neuenegg  under 
their  colonel  Grafenried ;  in  vain  did  they  fight  valiantly 
on  the  Grauholz.  Now  that  all  was  lost,  the  armed  bands 
of  peasants  dispersed  in  despair,  but  cried  treason  and 
killed  many  of  their  own  officers. 

The  day  of  darkest  fate  had  dawned  on  the  Confederacy ; 


272  THE  HELVETIAN   REPUBLIC.  [179Y- 

but  the  spirit  of  the  ancient  bond  had  long  since  disap- 
peared. Even  on  the  brink  of  the  abyss,  in  the  near  pros- 
pect of  general  ruin,  the  small  states  did  not  unite  for  the 
common  defence.  Each  cared  and  armed  for  itself  alone ; 
negotiated  for  itself  alone  with  the  invading  enemy,  hav- 
ing no  understanding  with  its  neighbors  and  confederates. 
Weak  when  divided,  all  must  needs  perish.  In  vain  did 
they  invoke  the  remembrance  of  the  heroic  deeds  of  their 
ancestors;  these  sought  a  freedom  which  was  worth  dying 
for  on  the  field  of  battle.  With  cowardly  despair,  grudg- 
ingly, and  in  some  cases  with  secret  reservation  of  future 
withdrawal,  the  liberty  of  the  subjects  was  promised,  sworn 
to,  signed  and  sealed.  Too  late.  The  battalions  of  the 
French  army  already  swarmed  over  the  whole  country 
from  the  Jura  to  the  base  of  the  Alps. 

France  now  authoritatively  decided  the  future  fate  of 
Switzerland  and  said :  "  The  Confederacy  is  no  more. 
Henceforward  the  whole  of  Switzerland  shall  form  a  free 
state,  one  and  indivisible,  under  the  name  of  the  Helvetian 
republic.  All  the  inhabitants,  in  country  as  well  as  city, 
shall  have  equal  rights  of  citizenship.  The  citizens  in 
general  assembly  shall  choose  their  magistrates,  officers, 
judges  and  legislative  council ;  the  legislative  council  shall 
elect  the  general  government;  the  government  shall  ap- 
point the  cantonal  prefects  and  officers."  The  whole  Swiss 
territory  was  divided  into  eighteen  cantons  of  about  equal 
size.  For  this  purpose  the  district  of  Berne  was  parcelled 
into  the  cantons  of  Yaudr  Oberland,  Berne  and  Aargau ; 
several  small  cantons  were  united  in  one;  as  Uri,  Schwyz, 
Unterwalden  and  Zug  in  the  canton  of  Waldstatten ;  St. 
Gallen  district,  Rheinthal  and  Appenzell  in  the  canton  of 
Santis;  several  countries  subject  to  the  Confederacy,  as 
Baden,  Thurgau,  Lugano  and  Bellinzona,  formed  new  can- 
tons. Valais  was  also  added  as  one ;  Orisons  was  invited 
to  join;  but  Geneva,  Muhlhausen  and  other  districts  for- 
merly parts  of  Switzerland,  were  separated  from  her  and 
incorporated  with  France. 

So  decreed  the  foreign  conquerors.  They  levied  heavy 
war-taxes  and  contributions.  They  carried  off  the  tons 
of  gold  which  Berne,  Zurich  and  other  cities  had  accumu- 


-1Y98.]  ALOYS  REDING.  273 

lated  in  their  treasure-chambers  during  their  dominion, 
and  had  been  unwilling  to  use  either  for  the  benefit  of 
their  own  people  or  for  that  of  the  Confederacy.  They 
sent  into  France  members  of  the  governing  or  most  distin- 
guished families  as  hostages  for  the  payment  of  oppressive 
imports,  or  for  th.e  maintenance  of  public  peace.  They 
diminished,  they  exhausted  the  resources  of  the  richest 
communes  and  of  the  poorest  huts  by  the  quartering  of 
troops,  by  forced  supplies  for  their'support,  and  other  ex- 
actions. In  fact,  Switzerland,  self-sustained,  could,  with 
less  cost  and  more  honor,  have  better  borne  the  burden  of 
a  year's  war,  than  this  occupation  by  a  foreign  army,  than 
this  fruit  of  the  neglect  and  surrender  of  the  old  Con- 
federacy. 

But  the  mountaineers  of  Uri,  Nidwalden,  Schwyz  and 
Glarus,  original  confederates  in  liberty,  said :  "  In  battle 
and  in  blood,  our  fathers  won  the  glorious  jewel  of  our 
independence;  we  will  not  lose  it  but  in  battle  and  in 
blood."  And,  posted  at  their  borders  on  the  Schindellegi 
and  on  the  Etzel,  in  view  of  the  French  troops,  they  took 
the  oath  of  fidelity  till  death  with  their  general  Aloys 
Reding.  Then  they  fought  valiantly  near  Wollrau  and 
on  the  Schindellegi,  but  unsuccessfully ;  for  the  curate  of 
Einsiedeln,  Marianus  Herzog,  who  commanded  the  Ein- 
siedelners  on  the  Etzel,  fled  disheartened  from  that  moun- 
tain. But  Aloys  Reding  reassembled  his  troops  on  the 
Rothenthurm,  near  the  Morgarten  field  of  victory.  There 
a  long  and  bloody  battle  took  place.  The  shepherds 
fought  in  a  manner  worthy  of  their  ancestors,  and,  like 
them,  victoriously.  Thrice  did  the  French  troops  renew 
the  combat :  thrice  were  they  defeated  and  driven  back 
to  Aegeri  in  Zug.  It  was  the  second  of  May.  Nearly 
two  thousand  of  the  enemy  lay  slain  upon  that  glorious 
field.  Gloriously  also  fought  the  Waldstatten  on  the  next 
day  near  Arth.  But  the  strength  of  the  heroes  bled  away 
in  their  very  victories.  They  made  a  treaty,  and,  with 
sorrow  in  their  hearts,  entered  the  Helvetian  republic. 

Thus  ended  the  old  Bond  of  the  Confederates.     Four 
hundred  and  ninety  years  had  it  lasted;  in  seventy -four 
days  it  was  dissolved.     It  fell  in  consequence  of  internal 
12* 


274  FINAL  SUBMISSION.  [179S- 

weakness,  but  did  not  deserve  so  ignominious  a  fall.  Its 
struggle  against  the  power  of  the  French,  then  over- 
whelming the  world,  was  like  the  final  struggle  of  an  old 
man,  who,  with  stiffening  hand,  seizes  the  sword,  not  to 
defend  the  flickering  sparks  of  life,  but  merely  to  save  his 
honor. 

Say,  son  of  Switzerland :  What  levelled  your  high  rocky 
walls,  opened  your  impenetrable  mountain-gorges,  bridged 
your  broad  lakes  and  your  raging  torrents,  blunted  the 
arms  of  your  arsenals  and  rendered  useless  the  gold  of 
your  city -treasures  ?  Eeflect  and  be  warned !  i 


CHAPTER  LXI. 

HOW  THE    SWISS   SUFFERED    GREAT   CALAMITIES,    UNTIL    A   NEW  CON- 
FEDERACY  WAS   FORMED. 

[A.  D.  1T98  to  1808.] 

Now,  when  throughout  the  whole  country  between  the 
Jura  and  the  Alps,  the  customary  order  of  things  was 
changed,  whether  voluntarily  or  compulsorily,  the  enlight- 
ened citizens  of  the  land  said  :  "  A  great  misfortune  has 
befallen  us.  Let  us  improve  it  for  the  benefit  of  our 
fatherland.  So  long  as  we  were  divided  into  many  small 
states,  we  were  foreign  and  inimical  among  ourselves ; 
each  canton  was  powerless  for  its  own  defence,  poor  in 
useful  institutions,  opposed  to  great  public  works.  Now 
the  old  form  is  broken.  The  body  is  consigned  to  the 
dust.  But  nations  are  immortal,  and  called  to  a  more 
glorious  resurrection,  as  soon  as  their  spirit  hopefully 
strives  for  a  higher  destiny.  Let  the  Swiss  people  form 
one  family  with  equal  rights;  let  us  labor  with  single  aim 
for  the  maintenance  of  liberty  within  and  of  independence 
without;  so  shall  we  once  more  be  honored  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth." 

But  the  uneducated  mass  of  the  people  did  not  under- 
stand such  words,  and  did  nothing  but  lament  their  lost 


-1803.]  FRENCH  EXACTIONS.  275 

quiet  and  customs.  They  desired  independence  and  free- 
dom, but  not  union  into  one  great  whole;  they  would 
have  preferred,  on  the  contrary,  that  each  small  district, 
each  valley  even,  should  be  an  independent,  self-governing 
little  canton,  ruling  itself  in  general  assembly  according 
to  its  will,  and  united  with  the  others  in  a  Confederacy. 

Every  thing  that  occurred  increased  their  regret  for  the 
past,  their  desire  for  such  a  hundred-faced  Confederacy, 
and  their  dislike  to  the  present  or  future  order  of  affairs. 
The  new  general  government,  established  at  Aarau  under 
the  name  of  Executive-directory,  commanded  neither  re- 
spect nor  confidence,  was  strange  to  itself  and  to  the  people, 
dependent  on  and  degraded  by  its  protectors,  the  French, 
authorities.  In  the  senate  and  in  the  great  council  of  the 
representatives  of  all  the  cantons,  contentions  took  place 
between  all  parties,  between  the  ideas  of  the  people  and 
of  the  schoolmen.  In  the  country,  the  same  parties 
showed  their  enmity,  often  with  arms  in  their  hands. 
New  and  old  institutions  and  laws  clashed  most  disas- 
trously. While  the  state  was  in  want  of  the  most  necessary 
supplies,  and  the  officers  and  clergy  of  their  pay,  the 
French  commissioners,  generals  and  soldiers  lived  in 
shameless  extravagance  at  the  cost  of  the  country  and 
sent  to  France  the  treasures  they  amassed  by  plunder. 

Thereat  the  people  said :  "  This  must  not  be !"  And 
the  magistrates  of  olden  time,  who  had  been  deprived  of 
their  offices,  and  the  monks,  who  feared  the  suppression 
of  all  convents,  and  the  clergy,  who  had  lost  their  salaries, 
and  the  traders  and  mechanics,  who  no  longer  enjoyed  the 
privileges  of  guilds  and  corporations  in  the  cities,  travelled 
about  and  increased  the  popular  dissatisfaction  by  their 
complaints.  They  dwelt  on  the  prospect  of  a  war  between 
France  and  Austria,  and  exhorted  the  people  to  help  the 
German  emperor  with  all  their  power  to  dispossess  the 
French. 

Therefore,  when  all  the  districts  were  summoned  to  take 
an  oath  to  support  the  new  constitution  (July,  1798),  dis- 
turbances and  risings  took  place  in  Kheinthal,  Oberland, 
Appenzell  and  other  places.  They  were  put  down  by 
force,  and  most  fearfully  in  Nidwalden.  There  a  capuchin, 


276  MASSACRE  IN  NIDWALDEIT.  [1798- 

Paul  Styger,  with  other  ecclesiastics,  had  excited  the  peo- 
ple to  wild  revolt,  by  preaching  that  the  constitution  im- 
posed by  the  French  was  the  work  of  hell.  They  armed 
against  the  French  army  advancing  under  Schauenburg. 
Terribly  on  the  lake,  terribly  among  the  mountains,  did  a 
handful  of  shepherds  fight  for  three  days  against  the  over- 
powering force.  Three  or  four  thousand  French  were 
killed  before  the  rest  could  penetrate  the  country.  But 
then,  in  their  rage,  they  burnt  Stanstaad,  Ennenmoos  and 
Stanz,  and  pitilessly  butchered  men,  women,  children  and 
priests  who  could  not  flee.  Nearly  four  hundred  Nid- 
waldeners  thus  lost  their  lives  in  the  midst  of  horrors  (9th 
September,  1798). 

And  shortly  afterwards,  when  the  government,  which  had 
removed  its  seat  from  Aarau  to  Lucerne  (4th  Oct.),  because 
the  former  city  was  too  small,  ordered  a  tax  and  enrolling 
of  the  young  men  for  military  service,  fresh  disturbances 
took  place  in  the  cantons  of  Berne  and  Lucerne,  and  in  other 
places.  Many  young  men  fled  abroad  that  they  might  not 
be  compelled  to  serve  in  the  Helvetian  militia,  nor  in  the 
contingent  of  eighteen  thousand  soldiers  which  was  to  be 
furnished  for  the  French  army. 

At  last  the  German  emperor  renewed  the  war  against 
France.  Already  (19th  Oct.)  a  body  of  his  troops  had  occu- 
pied Grisons,  whence  all  had  been  obliged  to  flee  who  had 
recommended  a  union  with  Helvetia.  Afterwards,  near 
Stockach  in  Suabia,  the  French  received  a  severe  defeat 
(21st  March,  1799),  and  when  the  Austrian  forces,  vic- 
torious in  numerous  conflicts,  advanced  into  Switzerland ; 
when,  terrified  by  the  enemy's  near  approach,  the  Helve- 
tian government  thought  themselves  no  longer  safe  at 
Lucerne,  and  removed  their  seat  to  Berne  (31st  May) ;  then 
the  various  parties  in  the  land  acquired  fresh  life  and  fresh 
animosity.  Swiss  fought  against  Swiss  under  the  banners 
of  France  and  Austria.  Insurrections  and  rebellions  took 
place  in  many  districts  ;  sometimes  on  account  of  the  forced 
enrollment  of  the  young  men;  sometimes  in  favor  of 
Austria ;  at  Flawyl  and  Mosnang  in  Santis,  at  Menzingen 
and  Rynach  in  Aargau,  at  Ruswyl  in  the  canton  of  Lucerne, 
nt  Morat  and  other  districts  in  Freiburg ;  at  Schwyz,  where 


-1803.]  MASSENA  AND  SUWARROW.  277 

the  French  were  either  killed  or  driven  out;  at  Lugarno 
and  in  Uri,  in  Valais  and  at  Aarberg,  and  in  many  other 
places.  In  the  valleys  and  on  the  summits  of  the  moun- 
tains, on  the  lakes  and  above  the  clouds,  the  French  and 
Austrians  fought ;  battle-field  touched  battle-field.  Horse 
and  man  passed  over  the  mountain-tops,  which  the  chamois- 
hunter  alone  had  reached  before.  By  turns,  the  Germans 
and  French  took  and  lost  Grisons  and  the  mountains  which 
enclose  the  sources  of  the  Rhine.  As  far  as  the  city  of 
Zurich  and  thence  to  the  St.  Gotthard  on  the  left,  and  to 
the  Rhine  on  the  right,  advanced  victorious  the  banners  of 
the  arch-duke  of  Austria  (in  June) ;  with  them  were  Rus- 
sians and  Asiatic  hordes.  Such  a  calamity  had  not  befallen 
the  inhabitants  of  Switzerland  since  the  days  of  the 
Romans,  Allemanui  and  Burgundians. 

Many  of  the  old  deposed  rulers  hoped  now  for  a  speedy 
resumption  of  all  their  former  authority.  They  even 
attempted  it  here  and  there,  under  the  protection  of  the 
Austrian  arms.  The  new  abbot  of  St.  Gallen,  Pancratius 
Forster,  himself  came  ;  reduced  his  people  to  a  severer  ser- 
vitude than  they  had  before  known  ;  took  away  from  them, 
with  the  help  of  dragoons,  the  charters  of  freedom  which 
had  been  granted  three  years  before,  and  broke  into  and 
rifled  the  archives  of  the  ancient  district.  But  he  soon 
suffered  for  trusting  to  might  without  right.  The  cities 
of  Zurich  and  Schaffhausen  also  learned  that  the  people 
would  not  return  to  their  former  servitude  on  any  terms. 

Shortly  afterwards,  when  the  brave  French  general 
Massena  proved  victorious  in  a  terrible  battle  near  Zurich 
(25th  Sept.),  and  destroyed  in  the  mountains  the  Rus- 
sians, whom  Suwarrow,  their  commander-in-chief,  had 
brought  from  Italy  over  the  Alps,  all  was  again  subjected 
to  the  Helvetian  constitution,  even  Grisons  (July,  1800). 

At  last  the  heads  of  the  central  government  at  Berne 
saw  that  such  a  state  of  things  could  not  continue  to  advan- 
tage. Therefore  they  'undertook  to  make  reforms.  But 
they  could  not  agree  among  themselves.  Regarding  per- 
sons more  than  facts,  the  parties  alternately  overthrew  each 
other,  so  that  no  one  remained  long  in  power,  and  no  one 
benefitted  the  country. 


278  REPEATED  CHANGES.  [1798- 

First  the  legislative  council  at  Berne  deposed  the  Execu- 
tive-directory (7th  Jan.,  1800),  and  established  a  new  con- 
stitution and  a  new  government,  which  took  the  name  of 
Executive-commission ;  then,  seven  months  later,  the 
Executive-commission,  by  a  stroke  of  authority,  deposed 
the  legislative  council  (7th  Aug.,  1800)  and  summoned  a 
new  council,  and  the  government  called  itself  Executive- 
council.  Then,  after  one  year,  a  general  Helvetian  Diet 
was  assembled  at  Berne  (7th  Sept.,  1801),  to  form  a  better 
constitution  for  Switzerland.  But  as  no  agreement  could 
be  attained,  the  Diet  was  arbitrarily  dissolved  by  a  part  of 
the  legislative  and  executive  councils,  who  introduced  a 
constitution  with  a  senate  and  little-council  (28th  Oct., 
1801).  At  the  head  of  the  little-council  was  placed  Aloys 
Reding,  the  victor  at  Rothenthurm,  because  his  name  was 
honored  before  all  others  by  the  Swiss  people.  But,  as  he 
did  not  possess  the  confidence  of  the  French  government 
and  could  not  obtain  the  favor  of  those  who  hated  to  return 
to  the  old  order  of  things,  the  senate  was  again  arbitrarily 
dissolved  by  the  little-council  (17th  April,  1802),  and 
Aloys  Reding  deposed.  Men  of  note  were  summoned 
from  all  the  cantons  to  construct  yet  another  new  constitu- 
tion. It  was  adopted,  with  a  senate  and  executive-council, 
at  the  head  of  which,  as  landammann  of  Switzerland, 
Dolder,  an  adroit  politician,  was  installed. 

The  Swiss  people  looked  with  indifference  upon  these 
continual  changes  and  overturnings  of  the  ruling  powers, 
by  which  laws  and  authority  were  shaken  rather  than 
strengthened.  They  lamented  the  endless  disturbances, 
the  taxes  and  contributions,  the  troubles  occasioned  by  the 
French  troops  in  the  country.  Riots  and  risings  took 
place  continually.  Yalais  especially  suffered  under  the 
plundering  domination  of  the  French  generals  and  soldiers, 
to  whom  it  was  given  as  a  prey.  In  order  to  hold  a  road 

i over  the  Alps  into  Italy,  the  French  wished  to  separate 

IValais  from  Switzerland. 

A  single  desire  invariably  possessed  all  the  districts  of 
Switzerland  :  that  each  canton  should  organize  its  internal 
affairs  according  to  its  will ;  each  be  free,  in  a  new  Bond 
and  Confederacy,  independent  of  French  power,  and  re- 


-1803.]  THE  PEACE  OP  AMIENS.  279 

lieved  alike  of  foreign  troops  and  former  servitude. 
When  a  treaty  of  peace  was  finally  concluded  at  Amiens 
between  France  and  the  other  contending  parties,  and  the 
French  garrisons  subsequently  returned  home  from  Switzer- 
land  (Aug.,  1802),  the  spirit  of -parties  and  districts  fear- 
lessly broke  forth  with  fresh  violence.  Valais  formed 
itself  into  a  separate  republic.  Uri,  Schwyz  and  Unter- 
walden  armed  against  the  Helvetian  government.  The 
city  of  Zurich,  also,  separated  from  it.  Bale  and  Schaff- 
hausen  followed  the  example.  From  Aargau,  the  land- 
sturm  marched  against  Berne.  The  Helvetian  government, 
though  not  entirely  defenceless,  fled  to  Lausanne,  while  a 
Diet  assembled  at  Schwyz  to  reestablish  the  old  Con- 
federacy (Sept.,  1803).  The  weak  Helvetian  army,  in  the 
pay  of  the  government,  driven  from  the  interior  of  Switz- 
erland, followed  it  to  Vaud.  Everywhere  the  parties 
armed ;  the  cities  armed  to  overthrow  the  general  govern- 
ment; the  country-people  armed  to  protect  their  liberty 
against  the  pretensions  of  the  cities ;  Vaud  armed  in  de- 
fence of  Helvetian  unity  and  freedom.  A  general  civil 
war  was  on  the  eve  of  breaking  out.  Blood  already 
flowed.  Then  the  powerful  leader  of  the  French  people, 
Napoleon  Buonaparte,  turned  his  eyes  towards  Switzer- 
land. He  commanded  peace.  On  the  reappearance  of 
his  formidable  army  (21st  Oct.),  all  parties  laid  down  their 
arms  and  requested  him  to  mediate  between  them ;  Swiss 
trusted  Swiss  no  longer. 


CHAPTER  LXII. 

NAPOLEON   BUONAPARTE    GIVES    TO    THE    SWISS   AN    "  ACT    OF 
MEDIATION." 

[A.  D.  1803  to  1813.] 

HE  summoned  delegates  from  all  the  cantons  and  parties 
to  come  to  him  at  the  city  of  Paris ;  there  he  heard  them. 
And  after  he  had  well  understood  them,  his  mighty  word 


280  WITHDRAWAL  OF  THE  FRENCH.  [1803- 

put  an  end  to  their  disputes ;  because  he  cared  not  for  per- 
sons but  for  facts.  He  did  not  listen  to  the  city-families, 
who  wished  for  the  restoration  of  their  dominion  and  of 
servitude ;  nor  to  those  who  desired  that  the  whole  of  Switz- 
erland should  be  an  undivided  community,  with  a  single 
code  of  laws  and  a  general  government  for  all;  but  he 
listened  to  the  majority  of  the  people,  who  wished  each 
canton  to  be  self-governing,  and  city  and  country  to  be 
equal  in  right  and  privileges.  Napoleon  Buonaparte  was 
a  shrewd  ruler,  and  he  said  to  himself:  "  If  I  grant  this  to 
the  people  they  will  be  satisfied ;  but  Switzerland  will  be 
divided  against  herself,  always  without  unity,  weak  and 
subject  to  my  control." 

Accordingly  he  intervened  and  gave  to  the  Swiss  an 
"  Act  of  mediation,"  (19  Feb.,  1803),  which  was  to  be  a 
fundamental  law  for  all.  Each  canton  received  therein  its 
constitution.  And  he  said  :  "  Henceforth  there  shall  be  a 
new  confederacy  of  nineteen  cantons,  viz. :  the  thirteen 
old  ones  with  those  of  Grisons  (including  Rhezuns  and 
Tarasp,  but  excluding  Valtelina),  Aargau  (with  Baden 
and  Frickthal),  Vaud,  St.  Gallen,  Thurgau  and  Ticino  (the 
former  Italian -bailiwicks).  No  city,  no  family,  shall  have 
exclusive  privileges  ;  no  canton,  subjects  ;  but  every  Swiss 
in  city  and  country  shall  have  equal  rights,  freedom  in 
trade  and  industry,  and  liberty  to  establish  himself  wher- 
ever he  may  please,  without  hindrance  from  any  one. 
The  common  interests  of  the  Confederacy  shall  be  managed 
by  an  annual  Diet,  held  alternately  at  Freiburg,  Berne, 
Solothurn,  Bale,  Zurich  and  Lucerne.  The  chief  magis- 
trate of  the  vorort  of  each  year,  entitled  landammann  of 
Switzerland,  shall  have  the  general  supervision,  and  shall 
communicate  with  the  ambassadors  of  foreign  powers. 
Each  canton,  on  the  other  hand,  shall  be  self-governing, 
with  its  own  laws  and  magistrates." 

As  soon  as  the  nineteen  cantons  were  organized  and  the 
Helvetian  general  government,  which  had  returned  from 
Lausanne  to  Berne,  had  dissolved  itself,  Buonaparte  with- 
drew his  troops  from  Switzerland. 

Nearly  everywhere  the  districts  of  Switzerland  joyfully 
arranged  their  internal  affairs  according  to  the  new  order  of 


-1813.]  ABBOT  PANCRATIUS.  281 

things,  and  gave  in  their  adhesion.  In  the  canton  of  Zu- 
rich only,  several  communes  obstinately  refused  to  take 
the  oath,  especially  in  the  districts  of  Horgen  and  Meilen  ; 
they  complained  about  the  burden  of  the  forced  redemption 
from  tithes,  ground-rents  and  other  charges.  They  would 
listen  to  no  representations,  but  maltreated  innocent  of- 
ficers, burnt  the  castle  of  Wadenschwyl  (24  March,  1804) 
and  seized  their  arms.  The  long  disorders  of  past  years 
had  accustomed  men  to  right  themselves  without  regard  to 
law.  But  auxiliaries  from  the  neighboring  cantons,  joined 
with  those  who  remained  faithful  in  the  canton  of  Zurich, 
quickly  put  down  the  rebellion  after  short  skirmishes  near 
Oberrieden,  Horgen  and  on  the  Bocken.  The  leader  John 
Jacob  Willi,  a  shoemaker  of  Horgen,  and  some  of  his  prin- 
cipal partisans,  were  punished  by  death,  others  by  im- 
prisonment, and  forty-two  culpable  communes  by  a  war- 
tax  of  more  than  200,000  florins. 

It  was  fortunate,  however,  that  this  spark  was  so  speedily 
extinguished,  before  it  became  a  flame,  as  it  might  have 
spread  over  all  Switzerland.  For  parties  were  still  un- 
reconciled in  all  the  cantons  and  districts ;  each  thought : 
"  If  this  new  organization  can  be  put  down,  we  may  rise 
above  the  others."  The  friends  of  Swiss  unity  murmured 
because  they  were  displeased  with  the  fresh  division  of 
their  fatherland  into  nineteen  cantons ;  the  convents,  be- 
cause their  existence  became  uncertain ;  and  Pancratius 
Forster,  abbot  of  the  former  convent  of  St.  Gallen,  openly 
reviled  the  St.  Gallen  districts  as  rebellious  vassals  of  the 
German  empire,  and  thought  he  could  more  easily  re- 
establish his  authority  by  arrogance  and  violence  than  by 
just  means.  Many  country  districts  were  dissatisfied  be- 
cause they  did  not  have  general  assemblies  to  themselves, 
like  the  original  cantons ;  many  patricians  and  city-families, 
because  they  had  lost  their  privileges  and  the  country- 
people  were  no  longer  subjects. 

The  majority  of  the  people,  however,  earnestly  desired 
quiet  and  peace,  held  fast  to  the  new  organization  and  to 
the  free  state-citizenship  which  they  had  obtained.  They 
overpowered  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  few,  and  all  feared  to 
oppose  the  will  of  their  powerful  mediator,  before  whom 

z* 


282  DESTRUCTION  OF  GOLDAU.  [1803- 

even  kings  quailed.  For  such  were  the  power  and  great- 
ness of  Napoleon,  that  he  placed  the  imperial  crown  on  his 
own  head,  and  held  half  the  world  in  awe. 

Therefore  the  country  was  quiet,  and  a  long  succession 
of  peaceful  and  prosperous  years  followed.  The  time  of 
rebellions  and  civil  wars  had  roused  the  spirit  and  vigor 
and  self-reliance  of  the  Swiss  from  their  hundred  years' 
slumber.  They  waked  with  fresh  life,  such  as  had  not 
before  been  seen.  They  had  become  acquainted  with  each 
other  during  the  storm,  and  were  no  longer  strangers,  as 
formerly.  All  the  cantons  felt  an  interest  in  what  occurred 
in  each.  Numerous  books,  pamphlets  and  journals,  for- 
merly suppressed  by  suspicious  governments,  enlightened 
the  people  on  important  matters,  gave  them  a  general  in- 
sight into  public  affairs,  and  excited  and  sustained  a  before- 
unknown  public  spirit.  Men  of  all  the  cantons  formed 
associations  for  the  improvement  of  public  institutions,  for 
the  encouragement  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  for  the  pro- 
motion of  union  and  patriotism.  The  Linth  canal  is  an 
everlasting  monument  of  this  great,  never  before  manifested, 
public  spirit.  Almost  a  million  was  voluntarily  and  readily 
raised  to  drain  the  marshy  shores  of  the  lake  of  Wal- 
lenstadt,  which  until  then  had  produced  only  poverty, 
misery  and  fevers.  Not  less  did  the  Confederate  good- 
feeling  show  itself,  when  a  portion  of  the  Rossberg  above 
Goldau,  in  the  canton  of  Schwyz,  undermined  by  autumn- 
rains,  suddenly  slid  downwards,  with  horrible  destruction, 
on  the  evening  of  2d  Sept.,  1806.  Goldau,  Lowerz  and 
numerous  cabins,  with  hundreds  of  prosperous  inhabitants, 
were  buried  deep  beneath  masses  of  rock.  Now  one  sees 
there  only  a  desolate  waste,  once  it  was  a  blooming  valley. 

The  people,  everywhere  free,  and  no  longer,  as  formerly, 
crushed  by  a  domination  which  kept  them  in  a  state  of 
tutelage,  were  inspired  with  fresh  energy  and  applied 
themselves  with  ardor  to  commerce,  industrial  pursuits, 
agriculture  and  the  care  of  flocks  and  herds ;  no  pro- 
hibitory laws  of  one  canton  against  the  others  trammelled 
industry  or  change  of  domicile,  as  before.  The  cooperation 
of  the  citizens  in  public  affairs  compelled  the  governments 
to  be  humane  and  just,  to  reform  imperfect  laws,  and  to 


-1813.]  THE  RUSSIAN  CAMPAIGN.  283 

favor  useful  undertakings  and  institutions.  The  people 
wished  to  be  free ;  but  without  information  and  strength, 
no  people  can  be  independent.  Therefore  the  schools  of 
the  country  were  multiplied  and  improved ;  for  the  en- 
lightened man  alone  knows  how  to  help  himself  and  others. 
Therefore  the  military  organization  of  the  Confederates 
was  placed  on  a  new  footing ;  so  that  at  an  hour's  notice,  a 
well-trained  force  could  defend  the  frontiers  against  a 
foreign  enemy.  In  the  space  of  ten  years,  more  useful 
improvements  were  projected  and  executed  in  Switzerland, 
than  in  the  course  of  a  century  previously. 

Napoleon,  emperor  of  the  French,  who,  with  invincible 
power,  deposed  kings  from  their  thrones,  dismembered  old 
empires  and  conferred  new  crowns,  as  if  he  were  lord  of 
the  world,  showed  himself  friendly  to  Switzerland.  But 
his  continual  wars  interfered  with  and  destroyed  general 
commerce  and  trade.  To  the  Confederates  they  made  es- 
pecially onerous  the  fulfilment  of  the  treaty  by  which  they 
were  to  furnish  to  him,  as  formerly  to  the  French  kings, 
sixteen  thousand  troops  on  pay,  always  complete  in  num- 
ber. The  young  men  disliked  this  service  because  of  the 
mortality  of  the  numerous  battle-fields  in  foreign  lands. 
Many  cities  were  displeased  that  the  French  had,  by  treaty, 
the  same  right  of  free  establishment  in  Switzerland  that  the 
Swiss  enjoyed  in  France.  Many  others,  also,  were  dissat- 
isfied, and  especially  because  the  existence  or  non-existence 
of  Switzerland  depended  on  the  will  of  a  single  man,  be- 
fore whose  wrath  the  mightiest  of  the  earth  trembled. 
.  However,  when  Napoleon  had  penetrated  with  an  im- 
mense army  into  the  depths  and  wilds  of  distant  Russia,  and 
saw  that  great  empire  lie  at  his  feet,  God,  the  lord  of  all, 
withdrew  his  countenance  from  him.  The  frost  of  a  few 
winter  nights  vanquished,  in  snowy  deserts,  the  armies  of 
the  invincible.  Then,  when  he  fled  in  terror,  the  kings 
and  nations  of  Europe  raised  their  heads  and  swore  the  de- 
struction of  him  before  whom  they  had  so  long  been  bowed. 
But  he  quickly  assembled  fresh  forces  in  great  numbers, 
and,  with  horse  and  foot,  marched  against  the  kings  of 
Europe,  over  the  Rhine  into  central  Germany.  There  they 
met  him,  on  the  plains  near  Leipsic,  and,  in  a  three-days' 


284  SWISS  NEUTRALITY.  [1814- 

battle,  smote  him  with  the  sword  of  their  wrath  (16,  18, 
19  Oct.,  1813).  He  fled  across  the  Rhine.  But  they  fol- 
lowed closely. 

When  the  allied  armies  of  the  emperors  and  kings  ap- 
proached the  Rhine  and  the  frontiers  of  Switzerland,  the 
Confederates  thought  of  their  obligations  to  the  mediator, 
but  also  of  the  sufferings  and  afflictions  of  the  nations  un- 
der his  sceptre.  And  they  said :  "  Let  us  remain  neutral 
in  this  strife  of  the  kings,  as  we  have  always  promised." 
Thus  decided  the  cantons  in  their  Diet  at  Zurich,  and  their 
banners  marched  to  protect  the  territory  of  Switzerland  on 
the  border  along  the  Rhine. 


CHAPTER  LXIII. 

THE  SWISS  ANNUL  NAPOLEON'S  "  ACT  OF  MEDIATION,"  AND  DIVIDE, 
UNTIL  FOREIGN  POWERS  ONCE  MORE  PUT  AN  END  TO  THEIR 
DIVISION  BY  FOUNDING  A  NEW  CONFEDERACY  OP  TWENTY-TWO 

CANTONS. 

[A.  D.  1814  and  1815.] 

WHEN  the  throne  of  the  great  Napoleon  sank  under 
the  victorious  blows  of  the  allied  kings,  the  wise  among 
the  Confederates  said :  "  Now  the  day  has  come  to  secure 
anew  the  honor  and  independence  of  our  fatherland.  While 
our  young  men,  fighting  on  the  frontier,  conquer  or  die  for 
the  inviolability  of  Swiss  soil,  let  our  deputies,  assembled 
at  Zurich,  lay  the  foundation  of  a  new  confederacy,  a  work 
of  patriotic  wisdom,  suited  to  the  requirements  of  the  age. 
Then,  but  not  till  then,  will  we  annul  Napoleon's, '  Act  of 
mediation,'  the  monument  of  our  former  division  and  weak- 
ness." 

So  said  they.  Not  so,  many  members  of  the  principal 
families  in  the  before-ruling  cities.  These  wished  to  intro- 
duce foreign  troops  into  Switzerland,  and*  under  their  pro- 
tection and  the  consequent  terror,  to  reestablish  a  Confed- 
eracy of  thirteen  cantons,  with  domination  and  servitude, 
such,  as  came  to  a  bloody  end  in  1798. 


-1815.]  INTRIGUES  OF  THE  NOBLES.  285 

There  were  rumors  of  secret  intrigues  and  negotiations 
at  Waldshut,  on  the  part  of  some  members  of  the  noble 
families  of  Berne  and  Grisons  with  foreign  generals.  Then, 
suddenly,  almost  immediately  after  the  promulgation  of 
the  solemn  declaration  of  Swiss  neutrality  by  the  Diet,  ap- 
peared an  order  for  the  widely  extended  troops  to  retire 
from  along  the  Rhine.  And  the  Austrian  battalions,  horse 
and  foot,  troop  after  troop,  with  drums  beating,  passed  the 
Rhine  (21  Dec.,  1813),  through  Bale,  Aargau,  Solothurn, 
Berne  and  other  districts,  into  the  territory  of  France.  The 
people  looked  on  with  astonishment  and  indignation.  The 
Confederate  troops  were  at  a  distance ;  most  of  them  full 
of  shame,  sorrow  and  anger.  This  long  passage  of  for- 
eigners brought  fevers  and  contagious  diseases.  Many  a 
happy  home  was  thus  made  desolate. 

But  the  city  of  Berne,  when  she  saw  the  numbers  of  the 
German  troops,  declared  that  Napoleon's  "  Act  of  mediation" 
was  annulled  and  all  the  dominion  and  authority  she  had 
before  possessed  over  the  country  reestablished.  The  peo- 
ple, overawed,  and  in  the  belief  that  this  was  an  order  of 
the  German  conquerors  whose  banners  they  saw  in  their 
villages  and  on  the  highways,  were  silent  in  anxious  sus- 
pense. The  cities  of  Solothurn  and  Freiburg  followed 
Berne's  example;  as  shortly  did  Lucerne.  The  Diet  at 
Zurich  likewise  annulled  Napoleon's  "Act  of  mediation,"  in 
virtue  of  which  it  was  assembled,  and  laid  the  foundation 
of  a  new  compact  of  the  nineteen  Confederate  states  (29 
Dec). 

It  was  not  this,  but  a  reestablishment  of  the  Confederacy 
of  the  old  thirteen  cantons,  with  the  restoration  of  former 
privileges  and  former  servitude,  that  the  chiefs  and  leaders 
of  the  disturbance  desired.  Therefore  they  stirred  up  the 
original  mountain-cantons.  Therefore  the  cantons  of  Vaud 
and  Aargau  had  been  arrogantly  summoned  in  the  Bernese 
declaration  (24  Dec.)  to  submit  anew  to  their  formerly 
sovereign  city. 

Thus  the  whole  Confederacy  was  once  more  falling  to 
pieces  by  internal  dissensions,  while  the  allied  emperors 
and  kings  entered  Paris,  banished  the  defeated  Napoleon 
to  the  island  of  Elba,  and  seated  Louis  XVIII.,  as  king  of 


286  QtJARRELS  AND  CONFLICTS.  [1814- 

France,  on  the  throne  of  his  fathers.  The  Diet,  in  which 
deputies  from  the  nineteen  cantons  were  newly  assembled 
at  Zurich  (6th  April,  1814),  was  the  sole  weak  tie  which 
prevented  the  entire  separation  of  the  cantons.  Distrust 
and  enmity  prevailed ;  demands  for  the  annihilation  or 
dismemberment  of  parts  of  the  Confederacy  which  had 
been  self-governing  and  free  for  sixteen  years.  Zug  de- 
manded from  Aargau  a  portion  of  the  former  free-baili- 
wicks; Uri,  the  Leventina  from  the  canton  of  Ticino; 
Glarus,  the  district  of  Sargans  from  the  canton  of  St.  Gal- 
len;  the  former  prince-abbot  Pancratius,  his  ancient  ter- 
ritories and  sovereignties  in  Thurgau  and  St.  Gallen ; 
Schwyz  and  Glarus  united,  the  territory  of  Uznach,  Gaster 
and  Wesen,  as  well  as  compensation  for  numerous  ancient 
rights;  Unterwalden  Uri  and  Schwyz  united,  a  similar 
compensation  for  the  sovereign  rights  they  had  possessed 
in  Aargau,  Thurgau,  St.  Gallen  and  Ticino.  Others  made 
other  demands. 

In  Grisons,  one  party  insisted  that  Rhetia  should  be  de- 
tached from  the  Confederacy ;  another  marched  with  some 
hundreds  of  armed  men  across  the  mountain  to  reconquer 
Chiavenna  and  Valtelina  (4th  May),  but  were  driven  back 
by  three  thousand  Austrians. 

During  these  storms,  Zurich,  Bale  and  Scbaffhausen 
distinguished  themselves  by  their  impartiality ;  Vaud  and 
Aargau,  by  the  enthusiastic  energy  of  their  people,  showed 
themselves  strong  and  worthy  of  their  acquired  free- 
dom. In  the  districts  and  cities  of  Bale,  Zurich  and  Solo- 
thurn,  the  friends  of  liberty  held  themselves  ready  to  fol- 
low the  banners  of  Aargau.  Here,  twelve  thousand  well- 
disciplined  troops  were  prepared  to  march  at  the  first  sig- 
nal, and  as  many  in  Vaud.  But  Berne  feared  an  open 
feud;  she  offered  to  recognise  the  independence  of  Vaud 
on  certain  conditions.  These  Vaud  refused  (24th  July). 
Aargau  armed  more  threateningly.  There  were  danger- 
ous fermentations  in  Bernese  Oberland  (August). 

Party -jealousy  and  suspicion  gained  strength  day  by  day, 
especially  after  men  began  to  discuss  the  future  rights  of 
the  people  and  the  future  limits  of  the  governing  power. 
There  were  reports  of  partial  risings,  of  conspiracies,  of  ar- 


-1815.]  THE  CONGRESS  OF  VIENNA.  287 

rests  and  banishments  at  Lucerne,  Freiburg  and  Solothurn. 
The  city  of  Solothurn  called  for  a  Bernese  garrison  to  pro- 
tect her  from  her  own  people.  Confederate  troops  were 
obliged  to  hasten  over  the  high  Alps  to  the  banks  of  the 
Ticino,  in  order  to  prevent  a  murderous  civil  war  (Sep- 
tember) ;  others  to  the  canton  of  St.  Gallen  to  put  an  end 
to  revolt  and  dangerous  anarchy :  for  here  the  abbot  Pan- 
cratius  was  doing  all  in  his  power  to  excite  his  partisans. 
On  the  other  hand,  Schwyz  did  the  same  to  take  Sar^ans 
and  Uznach.  Many  districts  insisted  on  their  right  to  gen- 
eral assemblies. 

While  Switzerland  was  thus  for  a  long  time  the  prey  to 
constantly  increasing  disturbances,  while  blood  already 
flowed  in  many  cantons  and  arrests  filled  the  prisons  of 
most  of  the  cities,  the  plenipotentiaries  of  nearly  all  the 
great  empires  of  Europe  were  assembled  at  Vienna,  the 
capital  city  of  the  emperor  of  Austria,  to  fix  on  solid  bases 
the  future  peace  of  the  world.  The  allied  conquerors  of 
France  had  already  assented  that  the  republic  of  Geneva 
should  enter  the  confederate  compact  as  a  self-governing 
canton ;  as  well  as  Neuchatel,  the  principality  under  Prus- 
sian sovereignty,  and  Valais.  (On  the  12th  of  September, 
these  three  cantons,  at  their  own  request,  were  admitted  by 
the  Diet  into  the  Swiss  Confederacy.)  But  now,  when  the 
kings  and  their  plenipotentiaries  at  Vienna  saw  the  inter- 
minable quarrels  of  the  Confederates,  which  time,  instead 
of  soothing,  embittered,  they  determined  to  mediate  and  to 
put  an  end  to  all  disputes  by  their  decision.  For  this  pur- 
pose, the  deputies  of  the  Confederates  went  willingly  to  the 
imperial  city  on  the  Danube,  as,  eleven  years  before,  to 
Paris. 

There,  after  long  consideration  of  all  disputes  and  griev- 
ances, the  declaration  of  the  allied  powers  and  their  deci- 
sive arbitration  were  finally  made  (20th  March,  1815). 
They  recognised  the  act  of  confederation,  to  which  the 
majority  of  the  cantons  had  acceded  on  the  9th  Septem- 
ber, 1814,  and  the  integral  existence  of  the  nineteen  can- 
tons, as  well  as  their  increase  to  the  number  of  twenty-two 
by  the  addition  of  Geneva,  Neuchatel  and  Valais.  To  the 
canton  of  Vaud  was  restored  Dappenthal,  which  France 


288  BASIS  OP  THE  JSTEW  COMPACT.  [1814- 

had  taken  from  her;  to  the  canton  of  Berne,  as  indemnity, 
were  assigned  Bienne  and  the  bishopric  of  Bale,  except- 
ing some  small  portions  which  were  incorporated  with 
Neuchatel  and  Bale;  to  the  abbot  Pancratius  and  his  offi- 
cers, a  pension  of  8000  florins;  to  the  cantons  of  Uri, 
Schwyz,  Unterwalden,  Zug,  Glarus  and  the  Inner-rhodes 
of  Appenzell,  for  their  former  rights,  a  compensation  of 
half  a  million  of  francs  from  the  cantons  of  Aargau,  Yaud 
and  St.  Gallen. 

The  settlement  of  the  Helvetian  state-debt  of  more  than 
3,500,000  francs,  of  the  claims  of  those  Bernese  who  had 
signioral  rights  in  Vaud,  and  of  many  other  matters,  was 
likewise  finally  determined.  Only  the  complaints  of  the 
republic  of  Orisons  remained  unheard.  For  Chiavenna, 
Valtelina  and  Bormio,  now  annexed  to  Austria,  were  not 
restored  to  them;  nor  till  1833  was  any  compensation 
made  to  those  whose  lawful  property  and  possessions  in 
Valtelina  had,  years  before,  been  unjustly  seized  and  con- 
fiscated by  the  revolted  subjects  of  the  republic. 

After  the  Confederates,  through  their  Diet  (27th  May), 
had  solemnly  assented  to  this  declaration  and  settlement, 
which  was  signed  by  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the  crowns 
of  Austria,  Spain,  France,  Great  Britain,  Portugal,  Prussia, 
Russia  and  Sweden,  these  powers,  in  like  manner,  declared 
their  recognition  and  guaranty  of  the  neutrality  and  invi- 
olability of  Switzerland  in  all  future  wars  of  the  princes. 

Thus  the  intervention  of  the  united  monarchs  of  Europe 
generously  put  an  end  to  the  unworthy  disputes  of  the 
Confederates ;  and  this  is  the  basis  of  the  compact  of  the 
twenty-two  confederated  republics  among  the  mountains 
of  the  Alps  and  the  Jura. 


-1815.]  THE  HOLY  ALLIANCE.  289 


CHAPTER  LXIV. 

RENEWED    LOSS    OF    LIBERTY,  AND    WEAKNESS    OP    THE    SWISS. 
[A.  D.  1815  to  1829.] 

THE  small  communities  in  the  high  Alps,  without  in- 
struction, without  commerce,  with  few  wants  and  resources, 
taking  little  interest  in  their  own  affairs  and  less  in  their 
neighbors',  fell  back  into  the  position  to  which  their  fathers 
had  been  so  long  accustomed.  They  peacefully  fed  their 
flocks  upon  the  mountains,  gave  their  votes  every  year  in 
general  assembly  for  magistrates  and  laws,  and  left  other 
matters  to  the  good  pleasure  of  their  spiritual  and  tempo- 
ral lords. 

But  in  the  districts  from  the  base  of  the  Alps  to  the 
Jura,  where  greater  intercourse  and  comfort,  commerce  and 
industry  prevailed,  far  other  wants  had  been  developed. 
Here,  many  regretted  the  loss  of  important  popular  rights 
which  had  been  annihilated  or  diminished  by  treachery  or , 
craft,  or  threats  of  violence,  to  the  advantage  of  grasping 
cities  or  families.  They  were  compelled  to  submit  to  poli- 
tical institutions  imposed  on  an  unwilling  people  by  arbi- 
trary officers.  That  they  might  not  fall  from  one  evil  into 
a  greater,  they  thought  it  most  prudent  to  be  silent.  They 
feared  to  irritate  by  opposition  the  powerful  sovereigns 
who,  after  the  conquest  of  France,  had  formed  a  "  holy 
alliance"  among  themselves  and  given  the  law  to  the  na- 
tions of  Europe.  What  no  one  dared  to  claim  as  a  right, 
each  hoped  to  obtain  from  the  wisdom  or  good  feeling  of 
the  newly-appointed  magistrates.  The  warning  past  was 
still  near.  But  the  men  in  power  did  not  willingly  cast  a 
glance  behind;  they  looked  only  to  the  future  and  to  the 
demands  of  their  ambition,  which  they  had  strengthened 
in  each  other  by  the  new  compact. 

By  this  compact,  which  with  equal  solemnity  guaranteed 
the  existence  of  twenty-two  cantons  and  of  fifty^nine  mon* 
asteries  and  nunneries,  the  dignity  and  power  of  all  Switz- 
erland was  once  more  made  subordinate  to  the  individual 
13  2x 


290  MILITARY  SCHOOL  AT  THUN.  [1815- 

cantons.  The  letter  of  the  agreement,  vague  and  elastic 
throughout,  was  a  most  commodious  instrument  to  foster 
the  spirit  of  cantonalism.  Although  it  was  declared  to  be 
a  fundamental  principle  that  no  subject-district  should 
exist  in  the  Confederate  states,  the  fact  still  remained  in  a 
milder  form  almost  everywhere,  in  spite  of  the  abolished 
name.  Even  the  subject-country  of  the  prince  of  Neucha- 
tel  was  received  into  the  number  of  cantons,  as  equal  in 
dignities  and  rights.  And  the  inhabitants  of  Reichenburg 
in  Schwyz  were  allowed  to  fall  again  under  the  sovereignty 
of  the  convent  of  Einsiedeln  without  any  protest  on  the 
part  of  the  state-governments. 

Thus  from  the  bloody  grave  of  1798  the  spectre  of  the 
old  Confederacy  came  back  upon  the  land  qf  the  freed 
Swiss,  and  gradually  brought  in  its  train  all  the  evils  by 
which  the  ancient  union  of  the  states  had  been  destroyed. 
The  Diets  again  presented  the  spectacle  of  vain  pomp  and 
fruitless  dispute.  The  deputies  brought  to  them  irreconcila- 
ble instructions  and  obstinate  reservations.  For  the  glory 
or  prosperity  of  the  common  Confederacy  the  individual 
cantons  wanted  strength,  the  whole  wanted  unity.  The 
establishment  of  the  military  school  at  Thun  (1818)  is  the 
only  memorial  of  a  federal  spirit  which  once  more  shone 
brightly  in  the  first  years,  and  then  became  extinct.  There 
were  indeed  long  and  frequent  discussions  and  disputes 
respecting  uniformity  of  currency,  freedom  of  trade,  unre- 
strained establishment  of  the  Swiss  in  every  part  of  their 
Swiss  fatherland,  and  many  other  desirable  matters ;  but 
nothing  was  done.  The  complicated  tolls,  so  injurious  to 
the  country,  remained  unabolished ;  thousands  of  heimath- 
losen,  the  disgrace  of  the  Confederacy,  homeless. 

Though  the  chiefs  of  these  small  republics  quarrelled 
bitterly  with  each  other  when  any  sacrifice  was  to  be  made 
for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  nation,  yet  they  were  subser- 
viently docile  to  the  hints  of  foreign  courts,  whenever  any 
advantage  was  to  be  gained  for  themselves  or  their  fami- 
lies. Mercenary  troops  were  willingly  hired  out  to  the 
kings  of  France  (1816),  of  the  Netherlands  (1818)  and  of 
Naples  (1829)  to  defend  them  against  their  own  people ; 
but  an  asylum  was  refused  to  those  unfortunates  who  were 


-1829.]  POWER  OP  THE   PRIESTHOOD.  291 

persecuted  and  driven  from  their  homes  for  political 
causes.  When  the  holy  father  at  Rome,  by  his  own  authority, 
separated  a  large  portion  of  catholic  Switzerland  from  its 
original  connection  with  the  bishopric  of  Constance  (1815), 
fourteen  full  years  were  lost  in  attempts  to  found  a  new 
national  bishopric.  Then,  when  all  hopes  of  an  under- 
standing were  at  an  end,  fatigued  with  the  interminable 
disputes,  some  cantons  joined  the  diocese  of  Coire ;  others 
the  bishopric  of  Bale  (1828),  the  seat  of  which  was  estab- 
lished in  the  city  of  Solothurn.  When  the  kingly  mem- 
bers of  the  "  holy  alliance"  demanded  a  restriction  on  the 
liberty  of  the  press,  the  governments,  with  unseemly  con- 
descension, hastened  to  perform  the  grateful  task.  Laws 
and  ordinances  immediately  trammelled  and  hindered  the 
public  interchange  of  ideas.  Judges  were  appointed 
under  the  name  of  censors  to  determine  what  truths  should 
be  concealed  from  the  people,  what  errors  should  be  elu- 
cidated. The  information  of  the  public  was  charged  with 
heavy  taxes  as  a  superfluous  luxury,  and  the  diffusion  and 
circulation  of  journals  burdened  with  stamp-duties.  Ya- 
lais  and  Freiburg  opened  to  the  Jesuits,  not  only  their  ter- 
ritory, but  the  schools  of  their  youth.  The  ecclesiastical 
power  raised  itself  again  with  new  strength  by  the  side  of 
the  civil,  to  protect  it,  or,  according  to  circumstances,  to 
brave  it. 

The  lies  of  a  cheat,  Clara  Wendell,  and  her  band,  re- 
specting the  death  of  avoyer  Keller  of  Lucerne  in  the 
Reuss  (1816)  occupied  for  several  years  the  attention  of  the 
Confederacy,  and  disclosed  the  imperfections  of  the  Swiss 
administration  of  justice  in  many  cantons.  When  a  suc- 
cession of  rainy  years  produced  a  scarcity  and  dearness  of 
produce,  and  thousands  fell  sick  from  unwholesome  food, 
or  died  of  hunger  (1817),  the  governments  increased  the 
evils  of  the  time  by  embargoes  between  canton  and  canton, 
or  by  prohibiting  the  export  of  provisions.  Division,  dis- 
putes and  discord  prevailed  everywhere.  No  Confederacy 
was  perceptible,  but  only  cantons,  united  by  concordats, 
or  separated  by  reprisals. 

In  the  seats  of  some  of  the  state-governments  magnani- 
mous men,  full  of  intelligence,  of  love  for  their  country 


292  FAMILISM  AND   FAVORITISM.  [1815- 

and  for  popular  liberty,  were  not  wanting.  But  the  good 
seed  which  they  sowed  was  choked  by  the  tares  which  the 
federal  compact  and  the  vicious  constitutions  of  the  can- 
tons unrestrainedly  fostered. 

For  the  unmeasured  power  which  that  compact  gave  to 
the  cantons  at  the  expense  of  the  Confederacy,  had  for  the 
most  part  fallen  into  the  hands  of  a  few  men,  who  ruled 
the  country.  The  feeling  of  their  unlimited  authority  by 
degrees  produced  domineering  pride;  irresponsibility  pro- 
duced arbitrary  government ;  long-continued  office  pro- 
duced familism  and  favoritism.  Not  only  the  tribunals 
of  the  country  but  even  the  representatives  of  the  people 
in  the  great-councils  became  subject  to  their  influence. 
Tha  old  aristocracies  again  raised  their  heads,  without  the 
prestige  of  ancient  recollections,  but  covered  with  demo- 
cratic tinsel.  This  soon  fell  away.  The  citizens  of  the 
country,  seeing  the  titled  display  and  pomp  of  their  gover- 
nors, submitted  more  and  more  unwillingly  to  the  burden 
of  taxes,  of  military  and  road -service ;  to  the  impositions 
on  the  poor  in  favor  of  the  rich ;  to  favoritism ;  to  waste- 
ful mismanagement  of  the  public  property;  to  malprac- 
tices in  office,  against  which  they  had  seldom  the  privilege 
of  complaint. 

The  small  republics,  travelling  in,  different  directions, 
separated  more  and  more.  But  the  mind  and  heart  of  the 
people  remained  constant  to  one  desire :  that  the  slavery 
and  impotence  of  Switzerland  should  cease.  This  spirit 
showed  itself  whenever  the  people  met  in  philanthropic  or 
scientific  societies  in  the  various  cantons.  This  was  the 
case  in  the  yearly  assemblages  (after  1819)  of  Swiss  stu- 
dents at  Zofingen ;  in  those  of  the  young  men  who  every 
year  (from  1822)  met  upon  one  of  the  glorious  fields  of  the 
old  battles  for  freedom ;  in  the  federal  shooting-matches, 
and  especially  in  the  Helvetian  society,  active  as  in  the 
memorable  days  of  its  first  organization.  The  public 
prints,  although  reviled,  prosecuted,  restricted  and  forbid- 
den to  exist,  spoke  more  boldly  and  were  read  with  more 
avidity  by  the  people.  Some  voices,  single  at  first,  but 
soon  more  numerous,  were  raised  in  the  great-councils 
themselves  for  the  restraint  of  the  governing  power  within 
legal  limits. 


-1829.]  CHARLES  X.   OF  FRANCE.  293 

In  free  republics,  the  chiefs  have  no  power  which  does 
not  proceed  from  the  confidence  of  the  people,  and  no  bay- 
onets can  protect  their  dignities  but  the  bayonets  of  the 
people.  For  fifteen  years  did  the  Swiss  suffer  the  evil  con- 
sequences of  1815.  First  on  the  banks  of  the  Ticino  did 
the  people,  exasperated  by  the  squandering  of  the  public 
property  and  by  the  venality  of  their  magistrates,  demand 
and  commence  a  reform  of  their  constitution  (1829).  The 
legislative  assembly  of  Vaud,  which  had  already  (1825) 
been  vainly  entreated  thereto  by  its  most  distinguished 
members,  soon  followed  in  the  same  course,  as  did  that  of 
Lucerne,  compelled  by  the  common  necessity.  The  great 
council  of  Zurich,  by  a  freer  admission  to  its  privileges, 
hoped  to  put  a  stop  to  more  serious  complaints. 


CHAPTER    LXV. 

THIRTEEN    CANTONS      RECOVER     THEIR     LIBERTY.         TROUBLES    IN 
SCHWYZ.   NEUCHATEL    AND    BALE. 

[A.  D.  1830  to  1882.] 

THE  majority  of  the  Swiss  people  would  gladly  have 
followed  the  example.  But  many  of  the  governments  pre- 
ferred the  exercise  of  arbitrary  power  under  the  protection 
of  the  "  holy  alliance."  They  thought  themselves  more  pow- 
erful in  their  reliance  on  foreign  forces  than  in  the  strength 
and  favor  of  free  citizens. 

Then  a  most  unexpected  occurrence  took  place.  A 
member  ©f  the  "  holy  alliance,"  king  Charles  X.  of  France, 
broke  his  royal  oath  to  his  people.  After  three  days  of 
bloody  fighting  in  the  streets  and  squares  of  Paris  (July, 
1830),  he  was  compelled  to  flee  into  exile  from  the  king- 
dom of  his  fathers.  Soon  Belgium,  soon  Poland  rose 
against  their  princes.  Italy  and  Germany  were  full  of  dis- 
turbances. Thus  the  strength  of  the  "  holy  alliance"  was 
broken. 

Delivered  now  from  the  fear  of  foreign  power,  the  Swiss 

2A* 


294  DETERMINATION  OF  THE   PEOPLE.  [1830- 

people  determined  to  recover  their  rights,  the  loss  of  which 
they  had  so  long  mourned.  It  is  easier  to  extirpate  a  no- 
ble nation  from  the  face  of  the  earth  than  to  extinguish  in 
their  breasts  the  love  of  freedom  and  manly  dignity.  In 
the  days  of  autumn  the  citizens,  first  in  small  numbers,  then 
by  assemblages  of  thousands  and  thousands,  in  the  cantons 
of  Aargau,  Thurgau,  Bale,  Zurich,  St.  Gallen,  Vaud,  Lu- 
cerne, Freiburg,  Solothurn,  Berne,  Schaffhausen,  even  in 
Schwyz  and  the  Outer-rhodes  of  Appenzell  came  with  re- 
spectful petitions  to  the  governments.  They  demanded  the 
alteration  of  the  illiberal  constitutions  of  their  countries  to 
meet  the  wishes  of  the  people,  and  by  representatives  of 
their  own  choice. 

The  governments  were  filled  with  fear  and  turned  anx- 
ious eyes  towards  the  foreign  courts,  whence  no  further 
help  came.  Therefore  they  yielded,  willingly  or  unwill- 
ingly, to  the  loud  and  general  demand ;  here,  with  be- 
nevolent wisdom ;  there,  grudgingly,  with  timid  hesitation. 
But  crafty  delays  excited  distrust;  inimical  reservations 
occasioned  popular  tumults  at  Frauenfeld,  St.  Gallen,  Lau- 
sanne and  Freiburg ;  or  armed  outbreaks,  as  in  the  cantons 
of  Aargau  and  Schaffhausen.  But,  in  the  midst  of  the 
revolutionary  storm,  property,  persons  and  the  dignity  of 
the  magistrates  were  respected.  Neither  did  streams  of 
blood  or  incendiary  conflagrations,  such  as  were  seen  in 
those  times  at  Paris,  Brussels,  Brunswick,  Warsaw,  Mo- 
dena  and  other  places,  sully  the  regeneration  of  Swiss  free- 
dom. 

Before  the  dawning  of  the  last  day  of  that  eventful  year, 
almost  everywhere,  constituent-councils,  chosen  by  the 
people,  or,  as  in  Freiburg,  Solothurn  and  Bale,  the  great- 
councils,  were  busily  at  work  to  satisfy  the  wishes  of  their 
country. 

Only  in  Berne,  then  the  Vorort  of  the  Confederacy,  did 
the  nobility  of  the  city  hesitate  to  surrender  the  privileges 
which  they  had  succeeded  in  obtaining,  sixteen  years  before, 
by  revolutionary  artifices  and  the  assistance  of  foreign 
power.  They  still  hoped  for  some  salvation :  either  through 
the  variance  and  feuds  of  the  cantons  with  each  other,  or  a 
war  between  neighboring  nations,  or  their  interference  in 


-1882.]  ACTION   OF  THE  DIET.  295 

the  affairs  of  Switzerland,  or,  as  is  always  the  case  with 
despairing  obstinacy,  through  some  miracle  of  chance.  In 
fact,  Austrian  troops  were  then  assembling,  with  threaten- 
ing aspect,  along  the  frontiers  of  the  Confederacy,  in  Vor- 
arlberg,  Tyrol  and  Italy. 

To  secure  peace  within  and  safety  without,  and  perhaps, 
also,  for  its  own  protection,  the  Vorort  called  a  Diet  at 
Berne.  But  the  Diet  decreed  :  "  Each  canton  shall  be  free 
to  form  its  own  constitution.  Sixty  or  seventy  thousand 
men  shall  be  held  ready  for  the  defence  of  the  Confederacy, 
in  case  of  war."  It  declared  to  foreign  powers  its  intention 
to  remain  neutral  in  all  their  wars.  Thus  did  the  Diet. 
The  nation,  electrified,  prepared  soldiers  and  arms  (Orisons, 
alone,  ten  thousand  men),  more  than  were  required.  Those 
who  were  exempt  from  service  wished  to  volunteer.  But 
afterwards,  when  the  foreign  courts  gave  to  the  Confede- 
racy renewed  assurances  of  peace  and  friendship,  the  noble 
families  of  Berne  perceived  with  despair  that  their  empire 
was  at  an  end  ;  and  when  the  burghers  of  the  city  refused 
to  admit  within  their  walls  mercenary  soldiers  to  act  against 
the  people,  the  patricians  submitted  to  their  fate  with  some 
show  of  dignity.  A  constituent-council,  demanded  by  the 
country  with  increasing  vehemence,  was  assembled. 

To  those  who  had  for  years  been  acustomed  to  domina- 
tion or  servility,  or  who,  secretly  honoring  in  their  hearts 
the  dignity  of  a  free  people,  had  betrayed  it  by  unworthy 
cowardice,  nothing  now  remained  but  to  decry  the  awak- 
ening of  the  nation  with  unrestrained  though  powerless 
malignity.  In  taverns,  council-halls,  churches,  pamphlets 
and  gazettes,  they  relieved  their  oppressed  hearts  by  con- 
tumely and  curses.  Many  who  had  before  been  the  strong- 
est opponents  of  the  government  became  now  its  warmest 
apologists.  Had  a  God  listened  to  the  prayers  of  their  in- 
sanity, disturbance,  bloody  revenge  and  civil  war  would 
have  overwhelmed  the  Confederacy.  But  they  blew  only 
the  flames  of  their  party-rage,  which  blinded  their  own 
eyes.  The  Swiss  people  went  forward  in  their  work  with 
dignified  calmness  and  determination.  Their  earnest  will 
secured  its  own  fulfilment. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  summer  (1831)  the  free  consti- 


296  THE   OLD  FREE-LAND.  [1830- 

tutions  were  accepted  by  the  people  in  most  of  the  cantons, 
and  put  in  operation.  The  same  love  of  freedom,  though 
with  varying  requirements,  had  based  them  all  on  the 
same  principles:  the  sovereignty  of  the  united  people; 
equal  political  rights  and  duties  for  every  citizen  ;  more 
decided  separation  and  independence  of  the  legislative, 
executive  and  judicial  functions;  shorter  terms  of  office; 
protection  of  private  property  against  official  power ;  free- 
dom of  the  press,  &c. 

Thus  the  cantons  of  Zurich,  Berne,  Lucerne,  Freiburg, 
Solothurn,  Schaffhausen,  St.  Gallen,  Aargau,  Thurgau, 
Ticino  and  Vaud  determined  the  rights  of  the  people  and 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  country,  in  a  legal  manner,  without 
unreasonable  disturbance  of  before-existing  ordinances. 
Governments  and  magistrates,  councils  and  judges  acted 
under  the  old  constitutions  until  the  new  received  force 
and  validity. 

But  not  so  peacefully  was  the  formation  of  a  better  con- 
stitution accomplished  in  Schwyz.  For  the  chiefs  of  the 
scant  population  of  the  before-ruling  Inner  district,  or  old 
free-land,  so  called,  refused  equal  rights  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Outer  districts.  And  yet  these  had  once  been  prom- 
ised to  them  in  the  days  of  trouble  and  war  (1798)  shortly 
previous  to  the  fall  of  the  old  Confederacy.  But,  since 
1815,  the  superannuated  privileges  of  the  old  free-land 
had  been  craftily  and  insensibly  resuscitated  under  prom- 
ises of  a  reform  in  the  constitution  which  had  never  been 
fulfilled.  Even  in  the  old  free-land  itself,  all  the  citizens 
had  not  equal  rights  and  duties ;  but  those  who  were  called 
"new  folk,"  though  their  ancestors  had  dwelt  there  for 
centuries,  were  inferior  in  privileges.  At  last,  when  nei- 
ther earnest  petitions  for  infringed  rights,  nor  negotiations, 
nor  the  offered  mediation  of  the  Confederacy  had  produced 
any  result,  the  Outer  districts,  March,  Einsiedeln,  Kuss- 
nacht  and  Pfeffikon,  determined  to  form  a  separate  free 
commonwealth  under  another  constitution  (6th  May,  1832). 
Thus  this  little  canton  was  for  a  while  divided  into  two 
parts,  not  without  reciprocal  animosity,  but  without  the 
evil  of  bloody  strife.  The  soils  of  Neuchatel  and  Bale, 
only,  were  thus  stained  at  that  period. 


-1832.]  FREDERICK  WILLIAM  OF   PRUSSIA.  297 

Early  in  1831,  the  paternal  prince  of  Neuchatel,  Fred- 
erick William,  king  of  Prussia,  sent  a  plenipotentiary  to 
consult  the  wishes  of  the  people,  and  graciously  relieved  a 
portion  of  the  burdens  which  occasioned  complaint  on  the 
part  of  the  communes.  No  one  then  wished  to  withdraw 
from  under  his  sceptre.  But,  shortly  after  the  return  of 
the  plenipotentiary  to  his  king,  voices  were  raised  demand- 
ing: "That  the  principality  be  made  a  republic,  like  the 
other  cantons  of  Switzerland."  Many  who  were  not  in- 
clined to  revolt  thought  this  object  worthy  of  every  sac- 
rifice. But  some  hundreds  of  inconsiderate  men  assembled 
in  arms,  surprised  and  seized  the  castle  of  Neuchatel  (12th 
Sept.,  1831).  They  were  driven  out  by  the  appearance  of 
the  Confederate  troops,  whose  assistance  the  government 
had  called  for  in  its  need  (27th  Sept.).  For  according  to 
the  compact,  the  constitution  of  the  canton  could  not  be 
changed  by  force,  nor  without  the  consent  of  the  prince 
and  of  a  majority  of  the  citizens.  After  the  castle  was  re- 
stored to  the  authorities,  and  an  amnesty  promised  to  the 
rebels,  the  Confederate  troops  returned  to  their  homes. 

Their  ill-success  did  not  discourage  the  malcontents. 
Once  again,  but  in  smaller  numbers,  they  raised  the  stand- 
ard of  revolt  (27th  Dec.).  But  they  were  dispersed  by 
the  unaided  troops  of  the  government,  after  bloody  com- 
bats. Those  who  saved  their  lives  by  flight  were  punished 
by  banishment.  The  captives  expiated  their  attempt  in 
unhealthy  prisons,  or  by  money,  or  confinement  in  foreign 
fortresses,  or  in  other  ways.  Even  the  innocent,  on  bare 
suspicion,  were  given  up  to  the  maltreatment  of  their  per- 
secutors. The  power  and  tribunals  of  a  cautious  govern- 
ment seemed  for  a  while  subservient  to  the  rage  of  a  vic- 
torious party. 

At  the  same  period  the  canton  of  Bale  was  the  theatre 
of  a  much  more  fearful  civil  war.  Here  a  majority  of  the 
country-communes  respectfully  petitioned  for  the  restora- 
tion of  privileges  once  guaranteed  by  the  capital-city  her- 
self, and  with  this  view  requested  the  calling  of  a  constit- 
uent-council to  be  chosen  by  the  people.  This  request,  and 
their  continued  persistence  in  it,  wounded  and  embittered 
the  pride  and  prejudices  of  the  city.  The  great-council, 
13* 


298  ATTACK  ON  LIESTAL.  [1830- 

composed  principally  of  burghers,  on  its  own  authority, 
drew  up  a  constitution  in  which  the  privileges  enjoyed  by 
the  city  since  1815  were  preserved  to  her.  Thereupoa 
many  members  from  the  country-communes,  who  had  like- 
wise been  grievously  insulted,  left  the  council-hall.  They 
had  in  vain  demanded  the  restoration  of  that  equality  in 
political  rights  and  duties  which  was  guaranteed  to  them 
in  1798.  When  men  in  power  exhibit  a  want  of  good 
faith,  a  pernicious  example  is  presented  to  the  oppressed. 
Dissatisfaction  and  indignation  on  the  part  of  the  country 
followed,  contempt  and  threats  on  that  of  the  city ;  then 
arming  on  both  sides.  Liberty-trees  were  planted  in  the 
villages.  A  provisional  government  for  the  country  was 
established  at  Liestal.  But  the  angry  authorities  sent 
troops  from  the  city -gates ;  after  small  skirmishes  of  many 
days  (middle  of  January,  1831)  the  rebels  were  dispersed, 
the  liberty-trees  cut  down,  the  revolutionary  government 
broken  up.  The  prisoners,  bound  with  ropes,  like  vile 
criminals,  were  led  through  the  streets  of  Bale  and  ex- 
posed to  the  insults  of  the  populace.  Then,  under  the  first 
influence  of  terror,  the  new  constitution  was  presented  to 
the  communes,  accepted  by  a  doubtful  vote,  proclaimed, 
and  the  severest  sentences  passed  upon  the  prisoners  and 
fugitives.  In  vain  did  the  other  Confederates  recommend 
wise  moderation  and  a  general  amnesty.  In  vain  were 
thousands  of  supplicating  voices  raised  from  the  humbled 
country-communes.  Bale,  in  the  feeling  of  her  right,  or 
of  her  power,  forgot  that,  in  civil  disturbances,  the  sword 
of  severe  justice  heals  no  wounds,  but  may  deepen  them. 

The  inflexible  harshness  of  Bale  against  her  fellow- 
citizens  in  the  country-districts,  who  asked  only  for  what 
had  once  been  promised  to  them,  and  what  was  already 
granted  in  other  cantons,  occasioned  a  great  excitement 
against  the  city  among  the  people  of  the  other  cantons, 
still  under  the  influence  of  the  first  effervescence  of  liberty. 
Soon,  in  the  cantons  of  Aurgau,  Berne,  Solothurn,  Zurich, 
Thurgau  and  Appenzell,  armed  multitudes  were  prepared 
to  defend  and  avenge  the  country-districts.  The  capital- 
city  hastily  erected  new  fortifications  and  strengthened,  her 
garrison  with  mercenary  troops.  With  the  feeling  of  in- 


-1882.]  EXPULSION  OF  THE   COMMUNES.  299 

creased  security,  insulting  contempt  increased.  To  pro- 
test against  injustice,  the  citizens  acted  with  injustice. 
They  provoked,  mortified  and  insulted  the  people  from  the 
country,  when  they  came  peacefully  to  the  city  for  pur- 
po.ses  of  trade  or  industry  ;  they  violated  the  secrecy  of 
the  post ;  on  bare  suspicion,  they  maltreated  citizens  and 
strangers  in  the  streets  and  houses.  Thus  they  wantonly 
drove  tbe  country-people  into  open  opposition.  Parties 
for  and  against  Bale  were  formed  in  every  village ;  law- 
less disturbance  and  insecurity  prevailed  everywhere. 

To  restore  order  and  submission  by  the  terror  of  their 
arms,  the  troops  of  the  city  once  more  (21st  Aug.,  1831) 
marched  with  heavy  artillery  against  the  little  city  of 
Liestal,  the  centre  of  the  rebellious  districts.  But,  from 
hills  and  valleys,  forth  rushed  the  landsturm  of  all  the 
people,  inflamed  with  love  of  freedom  and  a  thirst  for  ven- 
geance, and,  despising  wounds  and  death,  drove  the  trained 
troops  back  to  the  gates  of  their  city,  after  a  long  and  ob- 
stinate fight.  This  bloody  action  of  Bale  broke  the  last 
bond  between  city  and  country. 

A  cry  of  astonishment  and  indignation  resounded 
through  all  Switzerland.  The  Diet,  to  preserve  peace, 
sent  troops  into  the  canton  to  protect  the  oppressed  coun- 
try-people. A  majority  of  the  confederated  cantons  with- 
drew their  unconditional  guarantee  from  a  constitution 
stained  with  the  blood  of  so  many  citizens  and  loaded 
with  the  curses  of  the  country.  Bale,  on  the  other  hand, 
irritated  by  this  withdrawal  and  the  defeat  she  had  expe- 
rienced, stigmatized  the  Confederacy  as  faithless  and  for- 
sworn; expelled  from  her  republic  (22  February,  1832) 
forty-five  of  the  rebellious  communes,  although  the  Vo- 
rort,  in  the  name  of  the  Confederacy,  protested  against 
this  unexampled  proceeding ;  and,  as  soon  as  the  Confed- 
erate garrisons  had  retired,  once  again  sent  hired  soldiers 
into  the  country  by  night,  either  in  the  hope  of  avenging 
her  defeat  near  Liestal,  or,  as  she  asserted,  to  protect  the 
still  faithful  communes.  By  a  circuit  over  foreign  terri- 
tory, in  the  depth  of  the  darkness,  the  mercenary  troops 
reached  Gelterkinden  (6  April,  1832).  Suddenly  the 
landsturm  surrounded  them  with  all  its  horrors:  battle, 


800  BALE-CITY  AND  BALE-COUOTRY.  [1832- 

death  and  fire.  The  soldiers,  after  a  courageous  but  use- 
less defence,  fled  again  over  the  borders,  dispersed  and 
harassed,  leaving  many  behind.  The  news  of  this  clan- 
destine attempt  roused  afresh  the  indignation  of  the  neigh- 
boring cantons  against  Bale.  The  defeat  of  the  merce- 
naries alone  calmed  the  excitement.  The  Diet  intervened 
once  more.  But  Bale,  entrenched  behind  her  walls  and 
ramparts,  was  saddened,  not  humbled,  by  her  double  mis- 
fortune. She  closed  her  gates  against  the  troops  of  the 
Confederacy,  when  they  presented  themselves  for  the 
maintenance  of  peace;  she  refused  the  mediation  of  the 
commissioners  whom  the  Diet  sent  to  Zofingen  to  settle 
the  differences  between  city  and  country.  Then  the  Con- 
federates, assembled  at  Lucerne,  finally  persuaded  of  the 
inflexible  obstinacy  and  pride  of  the  burghers  of  Bale, 
determined  on  the  division  of  the  canton  into  Bale-city 
and  Bale-country.  To  Bale-city  belonged  Bale  herself 
and  sixteen  villages  which  had  remained  faithful  to  her  in 
different  parts  of  the  country.  But  Bale-country,  with 
fifty- three  communes,  under  its  own  separate  constitution, 
was  admitted  into  the  protection  and  compact  of  the  Con- 
federates ;  then  both  sections  were  commanded  to  keep  the 
peace,  and  the  troops  were  once  more  withdrawn. 


CHAPTER   LXYI. 

THE   LEAGUE    OF    8ARNEN.       FIVE    HUNDRED    POLES    ENTER    SWITZER- 
LAND   FROM    FRANCE. 

[A.  D.  1832  to  1833.] 

THE  rich  frontier-city,  in  her  unappeasable  resentment, 

f  which  so  many  reverses  had  not  extinguished  but  rather 

'  inflamed,   seemed  prepared   to   adopt    the  most  violent 

measures,  even  the  dissolution  of  the  Confederacy  or  her 

own  withdrawal  from  it.     The  rest  of  the  cantons,  on  the 

other  hand,  in  their  timid  prudence,  hesitated  to  execute 

energetically  the  decrees  of  the  Diet,  because  they  feared 


-1883.]  THE   LIBERAL  CANTONS.  301 

a  rupture  of  the  whole  Confederacy,  a  general  civil  war 
and  the  armed  interference  of  foreign  powers.  These  and 
other  considerations  encouraged  the  enemies  of  popular 
freedom  everywhere  to  new  and  more  audacious  hopes. 
In  order  to  spread  their  opinions  among  the  multitude 
they  made  use  of  pulpits  and  schools,  pamphlets  and  lam- 
poons, newspapers  and  caricatures,  confessionals  and  work- 
shops, in  which  they  disparaged  the  new  political  system. 
But  the  friends  of  their  country's  freedom  combatted  them 
with  equal  bitterness  and  similar  measures  ;  formed  defen- 
sive unions  and  held  public  meetings.  So  great  were  the 
discord  and  party-animosity,  that  nothing  was  honored, 
no  names  were  respected ;  even  the  holy  bonds  of  blood 
and  the  oldest  friendships  were  broken. 

The  old  democratic  cantons  at  the  foot  or  in  the  valleys 
of  the  Alps  either  looked  upon  these  quarrels  of  the 
others  with  indifference,  or,  persuaded  by  their  ecclesias- 
tical and  civil  lords,  were  inclined  to  favor  Bale,  the  pa- 
tricians, and  other  enemies  of  political  equality.  Most  of 
them  were  so  far  influenced  as  to  refuse  or  withhold  their 
Confederate  guarantee  to  the  new  constitutions  in  Switzer- 
land. Such  a  disposition,  which  certainly  bore  the  ap- 
pearance of  hostility,  wounded  the  people  of  the  other 
cantons.  Seven  of  these,  Zilrich,  Berne,  Lucerne,  Solo- 
thurn,  St.  Gallen,  Aargau  and  Thurgau,  therefore  met 
together  by  their  deputies  in  the  spring  of  1832.  They 
formed  an  agreement  or  covenant  by  which  they  mutually 
guaranteed  the  maintenance  of  their  free  constitutions. 
This  covenant,  which  embraced  a  majority  of  all  the  peo- 
ple of  Switzerland  and  secured  their  rights,  defeated  but 
did  not  destroy  the  plans  of  their  opponents. 

In  Berne,  the  violent  patrician  leaders  secretly  prepared 
stores  of  arms,  collected  20,000  cartridges  in  concealed 
places,  and  clandestinely  enlisted  soldiers,  principally  mer- 
cenaries discharged  from  the  French  service,  or  people 
without  bread  and  conscience,  ready  for  any  undertaking. 
The  conspiracy  was  to  break  out  at  any  favorable  moment, 
even  in  blood,  and  flames.  But  it  was  betrayed  by  the 
imprudence  or  drunkenness  of  some  of  the  hired  vagabonds 
(August,  1832).  The  ringleaders  fled ;  other  accomplices 

fa 


302  NULLIFICATION.  [1832- 

in  the  criminal  design  were  arrested.  Thereupon  the 
country-communes,  for  their  safety  and  the  protection  of 
their  freedom,  were  armed  and  supplied  with  heavy  artil- 
lery. These  events  opened  the  eyes  of  all  the  people  to 
the  revengeful  ambition  of  their  former  masters,  desirous 
to  recover  their  privileges  at  whatever  cost.  The  formerly 
honorable,  but  in  the  lapse  of  time  self-corrupted,  Bernese 
aristocracy  had  set  the  seal  of  ignominy  upon  its  impotence. 

In  the  mean  while  the  government  and  burghers  of 
Bale  had  conceived  a  grander  but  not  less  inimical  pro- 
ject. They  formed  a  closer  alliance  with  the  chiefs  of 
TJri,  Schwyz,  Unterwalden,  Neuchatel  and  Valais.  These, 
as  well  as  Bale,  had  solemnly  objected  to  and  protested 
against  the  covenant  of  the  seven  great  cantons  to  guar- 
antee their  constitutions.  In  consequence  of  the  loud 
demand  which  had  long  been  heard  throughout  the  Con- 
federacy for  the  remodelling  of  the  compact  of  1815,  as 
uosuited  to  the  constitutions  of  most  of  the  cantons  and 
the  requirements  of  a  confederated  state,  Bale  invited 
those  cantons  which  were  friendly  to  her  to  assemble  for 
the  purpose  of  adopting  important  measures  in  concert. 
All,  except  Valais,  prevented  by  internal  differences,  ap- 
peared on  the  appointed  4,ay  (14  November,  1832)  at 
Sarnen  in  Obwalden.  There  they  unanimously  resolved : 
"  To  hold  fast  by  the  compact  of  1815,  unaltered ;  conse- 
quently, not  to  recognise  Bale-country  or  the  Outer-dis- 
tricts of  Schwyz,  as  separate  commonwealths ;  and,  when 
deputies  from  these  should  be  admitted  into  a  Diet,  to 
send  no  representatives." 

When  the  Diet  assembled  at  Zurich  in  March,  1833, 
to  continue  the  discussion  upon  a  project  for  a  new  federal 
compact  which  had  been  commenced  at  Lucerne,  no  rep- 
resentatives appeared  from  the  cantons  of  the  Sarnen- 
league.  But  they  met  at  Schwyz  as  members  of  a  distinct 
Confederacy  ;  they  called  the  Diet  an  illegal  assembly,  and 
declared  that  Bale-city  and  Neuchatel,  the  cantons  of  Uri 
and  Unterwalden  with  Schwyz  Inner-district,  though  but 
a  small  minority,  would  not  submit  to  the  decrees  of  the 
Confederate  majority. 

This  bold  measure,  which,  under  pretext  of  literaffy  ob- 


-1883.]  THE  POLISH  STRUGGLE.  303 

serving  the  existing  compact,  virtually  dissolved  it,  excited 
great  indignation  among  the  Confederate  deputies  assem- 
bled at  Zurich,  but  no  general  determination  to  reduce  the 
refractory  members  to  obedience;  Their  attention  seemed 
to  be  occupied  by  the  important  labor  of  remodelling  the 
compact,  as  well  as  by  another  matter. 

The  superiority  of  the  Eussian  arms  had  overcome  a  for- 
midable insurrection  and  struggle  for  independence  on  the 
part  of  the  Poles.     Thousands  of  unfortunate  but  valiant 
Poles  left  their  subjugated   country  covered  with   dead 
bodies  and  ruins,  and  wandered,  flying  the  vengeance  of 
Russia,  from  land  to  land,  seeking  refuge.     The  people  of 
Switzerland,  full  of  wonder  and  commiseration,  assisted  the 
brave  men  who  passed  through  their  cities  and  villages  on 
their  way.  to  France,  where  an  asylum  was  promised  to 
them.     But,  after  a  while,  the  Poles  in  France  found  them- 
selves disappointed  in  the  expectations   they  had   enter- 
tained from  the  hospitality  of  that  country.  Many  of  them, 
dissatisfied,  went  into  Belgium ;  many  enlisted  in  Portu- 
gal under  the  standard  of  Don  Pedro,  who  was  contending 
w.ith  his  brother  for  the  throne  of  that  kingdom,  and,  at 
last,  about  five  hundred  unexpectedly  crossed  the  French 
frontier  into  the  canton  of  Berne,  to  seek  assistance  from 
the  Confederacy  (early  in  April,  1833).     But  here  their 
numbers  caused  the  other  cantons  to  refuse  them  entrance 
into  their  territory,  while  France  forbade  all  return.     In 
vain  did  the  Poles  appeal  to  the  generosity  of  the  Confed- 
erates ;  in  vain  did  Berne  entreat  her  fellow-cantons  not  to 
leave  upon  her  alone  the  burden  of  so  expensive  a  hospi- 
tality.    Most  of  the  cantons,  pleased  with  having  escaped 
the  lot  of  Berne,  refused  all  assistance  in  this  great  diffi- 
culty.    Some  excused  themselves  on  account  of  their  great 
poverty ;  some  feared  to  increase  the  number  of  heimath- 
losen   in  their  territory;    others  held   these  suddenly-ar- 
rived strangers  to  be  accomplices  in  the  German  insurrection, 
which  about  that  time  broke  forth  at  Frankfort  on  the  Main ; 
while  some  even  suspected  Berne  of  having  invited  the 
Poles  into  the  country  to  serve  against  her  troublesome 
patricians,  or  against  the  neighboring  cantons  who  were 
opposed  to  the  reforms  in  Switzerland, 


804  PROPOSED  MEDIATION.  [1833. 


CHAPTER  LXVII. 

BREACH    OF    THE    PEACE.       PEACE    RESTORED    BY    THE    DIET. 
[A.  D.  1S38.] 

IN  the  mean  while  the  project  of  a  new  compact  was 
completed.  It  was  published  and  submitted  to  the  people 
of  Switzerland  for  their  acceptance  or  rejection.  In  expec- 
tation of  their  action,  the  Diet  opened  its  regular  session  at 
Zurich  (1  July)  with  the  customary  solemnity.  But  at  the 
same  time  the  plenipotentiaries  from  the  Sarnen-league  met 
together  at  Schwyz.  Never  were  union  and  a  good  under- 
standing between  all  the  Confederates  more  desirable  than 
on  the  day  when  they  were  to  lay  the  foundation  of  their 
new  compact,  and  never  did  the  accomplishment  of  this 
desire  seem  more  distant.  At  the  instance  of  Grisons,  the 
Confederates  once  more  extended  the  hand  of  brotherhood 
to  the  refractory  cantons,  and  proposed  a  friendly  settle- 
ment of  the  differences  between  the  Inner  and  Outer  dis- 
tricts of  Schwyz,  as  well  as  between  Bale-city  and  Bale- 
country.  The  day  of  mediation  was  in  fact  agreed  upon 
(5  August).  All  the  cantons  promised  to  send  deputies ; 
even  the  Confederates  of  the  league.  But  the  latter  were 
not  in  earnest. 

Then,  when  the  people  of  the  canton  of  Lucerne,  dis- 
turbed and  terrified  by  the  extravagance  of  the  intemperate 
friends  of  freedom  and  that  of  the  monks  and  priests,  re- 
jected the  proposed  compact  (7  July),  all  the  enemies  of 
the  new  order  of  things  suddenly  raised  their  heads  with 
more  audacious  boldness.  The  former  rulers  of  the  people 
thought  that  the  latter  could  be  made  as  subservient  as  be- 
fore. Hence  fresh  hopes,  fresh  plans  for  the  reestablish- 
ment  of  supremacy.  No  conciliation !  No  compromise ! 
The  edifice  of  liberty  must  be  overwhelmed  in  rum  !  One 
vigorous  blow  would  be  enough.  Messengers  hastened 
hither  and  thither.  There  was  secret  arming  in  Schwyz,  re- 
doubled activity  in  Bale.  The  day  fixed  for  the  assembling 
of  the  great  mediating-council  was  already  close  at  hand. 


1838.]  SCHWYZ  AND  BALE  OCCUPIED.  305 

On  a  summer's  night  (30-31st  July),  at  the  sounh  of  the 
tocsin,  six  hundred  valiant  men  of  Schwyz  marched  with 
heavy  artillery  and  took  Kussnacht,  a  village  of  the  Outer- 
district,  on  the  lake  of  the  Waldstatten.  They  brought 
back  prisoners,  disregarded  the  admonition  of  Lucerne,  and 
threatened  to  follow  up  their  warlike  expedition.  But  a 
thousand  men  hastened  in  arms  from  Lucerne  to  the  bor- 
ders and  stopped  their  further  advance.  On  the  1st  of 
August  the  Diet  at  Zurich  were  informed  of  this  audacious 
breach  of  the  peace.  Their  long-suffering  patience  was  at 
an  end.  They  ordered  twenty  battalions,  under  the  lead 
of  deputed  plenipotentiaries  and  experienced  generals,  to 
occupy  Schwyz;  they  deferred  the  assembling  of  the 
mediators,  and  issued  an  address  to  the  nation  respecting 
the  malicious  enterprise.  A  cry  of  indignation  against 
Schwyz  resounded  through  all  the  valleys.  The  Confe- 
derate troops  hastened  willingly  to  fulfil  the  orders  of  the 
highest  authority  of  the  country. 

Three  days  after  this  intelligence,  came  that  of  a  mur- 
derous attack  of  the  Balese  upon  the  country-districts  of 
the  canton  which  had  been  declared  free.  With  sixteen 
hundred  men  and  twelve  pieces  of  artillery,  the  citizens 
and  garrison  had  marched  by  night  (3d  August)  towards 
Muttenz.  Then  they  had  burned  Pratteln,  killed  several 
defenceless  persons,  and,  from  skirmish  to  skirmish,  taken 
the  road  to  Liestal.  But  they  soon  found  their  defeat  in 
the  oak-wood  of  Oehrli,  not  far  from  Frenkendorf.  In 
small  numbers  and  with  a  heroism  worthy  of  the  most  glo- 
rious days  of  Swiss  battles  for  freedom,  the  sons  of  the 
country  here  made  a  stand  and  met  the  soldiers  of  Bale 
with  wounds  and  death.  The  disordered  troops  of  the  city 
wavered ;  then  gave  way ;  and  quickly  dispersed  in  wild 
flight  through  the  wood.  Breathing  vengeance,  the  victo- 
rious country-men  pursued;  neither  asking  nor  giving 
quarter.  More  than  three  hundred  of  the  aggressors  fell 
dead  or  wounded.  The  pride  of  Bale  was  broken.  Fear 
and  mourning  filled  the  whole  city. 

On  the  evening  of  this  unhappy  day,  the  Diet,  informed 
of  the  breach  of  the  peace  but  not  of  the  issue  of  the  com- 
bat, met  at  night  and  ordered  the  occupation  of  the  canton 

2s* 


306  FIRMNESS  AND   MODERATION.  [1833- 

of  Bale,  city  and  country,  by  ten  thousand  soldiers.  On 
the  4th  day  of  August,  the  troops  of  the  Confederacy  were 
already  in  Schwyz;  on  the  10th  they  entered  the  gates 
of  Bale.  The  league  of  Sarnen  was  dissolved ;  the  refrac- 
tory cantons  enjoined  to  fulfil  their  duty  by  sending  depu- 
ties to  the  Diet.  Neuchatel  alone  hesitated ;  ten  thousand 
men  started  on  their  march  towards  her  borders ;  she  hast- 
ened to  obey. 

These  energetic  measures  restored  peace  to  Switzerland. 
The  troops  gained  honor  by  their  discipline ;  the  whole 
nation,  by  their  enthusiasm  for  liberty  and  order.  The  mu- 
tinous aristocracy  of  the  cities  and  principal  families,  with 
their  ecclesiastical  and  civil  followers,  were  awed  by  the 
majesty  of  the  popular  will,  which  manifested  itself  in  a  man- 
ner entirely  different  from  the  expectations  of  their  blindness. 

The  embassadors  of  Russia,  Austria,  Prussia,  Bavaria 
and  Sardinia  hurried  to  Zurich  (7th  August),  to  intercede 
in  favor  of  Bale,  while  the  most  violent  of  the  political  as- 
sociations demanded  a  court-martial  on  the  authors  and 
chief-leaders  of  the  breaches  of  the  peace,  their  degradation 
and  execution.  But  the  Confederate  authorities,  with  wise 
firmness,  resisted  the  solicitations  of  both  parties.  Justice 
and  magnanimity  honor  and  preserve  republics  as  well  as 
monarchies.  In  Schwyz,  a  reunion  took  place  between  the 
old  free-land  and  the  outer  districts  under  a  common  con- 
stitution (19th  September) ;  Bale,  with  some  villages  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Rhine,  was  definitively  separated  from  the 
whole  country  (17th  August) ;  and  a  mediatorial  tribunal 
at  Aarau  determined  the  allotment  of  the  public  property 
to  each  of  the  two  commonwealths,  into  which  this  single 
canton,  like  Appenzell  and  Unterwalden,  was  now  divided. 
When  the  share  of  each  canton,  as  well  as  of  the  Confede- 
racy, in  the  expenses  of  occupation,  was  decided,  and  the 
troops  had  returned  to  their  homes  with  thanks,  the  Diet 
was  dissolved  (16th  October). 

Thus  the  Swiss,  at  this  period,  secured  and  preserved  the 
freedom  of  their  country  by  military  energy  and  magnani- 
mity. Under  the  protection  and  power  of  the  law  quiet 
returned  to  all  the  districts  of  the  Confederacy.  But  the 
freedom  of  a  people  must  repose  with  open  eyes:  to  slum- 
ber is  to  die. 


THE  BUGLE-CALL.  307 

CHAPTER  LXYIII. 

CONCLUSION. 

THIS  is  the  history  of  past  times ;  a  glimpse  into  the  se- 
crets of  the  future. 

Neither  the  arrow  of  Tell  nor  the  dagger  of  Camogaster 
broke  the  chains  of  Swiss  bondage.  Neither  at  St.  Jac- 
ques nor  on  the  Malserhaide  was  the  independence  of  the 
Confederates  secured.  No,  the  combat  for  internal  free- 
dom and  external  independence  has  lasted  five  hundred 
years.  The  men  at  Eutli  and  those  under  the  maple-tree 
of  Truns  gave  but  the  signal  for  the  holy  fight. 

For,  after  the  innocent  simplicity  of  Uri  had  been  cor- 
rupted by  the  pride  of  the  other  Confederates,  they  no 
longer  blushed  to  occupy  the  seats  of  the  banished  signiors 
and  bailiffs,  but  preferred  to  have  subjects  and  bond-ser- 
vants rather  than  free  fellow-citizens.  At  Stanz,  where 
blessed  Nicholas  von  der  Flue  appeared  to  them,  they  gave 
to  each  other  a  guaranty  of  everlasting  dominion  over  the 
people  and  against  their  struggles  for  freedom.  And  when 
Toggenburg  wished  to  purchase  her  liberty  they  refused 
all  offers.  They  desired  liberty  to  hold  subjects,  not  to 
grant  freedom.  Therefore  they  at  last  looked  upon  the 
virtues,  enlightenment  and  increasing  wealth  of  the  people 
with  more  dread  than  upon  open  revolt. 

But  the  edifice  which  had  been  raised  by  the  hand  of 
base  selfishness  was  to  be  destroyed  by  the  same  means. 
Soon  the  world  saw  with  wonder  that  the  Swiss  despised 
and  weakened  the  very  foundations  of  their  strength  and 
glory :  their  perpetual  bond,  and  union.  The  cantons  for- 
got their  first  love,  cherished  enmity  against  each  other 
and  courted  foreign  powers.  The  heroes  of  freedom  be- 
came slaves  in  the  golden  chains  of  princes.  The  frugal 
sons  of  the  Alps,  for  hire  and  presents,  sold  the  people's 
blood  '  unknown  battle-fields,  and  their  votes  in  council. 
The  n  rily  spirit  of  the  ancient  leaders  of  the  country  was 
dwarf  1  to  the  timidity  of  aristocratic  council-lords.  The 


808  THE  ENEMY. 

government  of  the  country  was  a  state-secret  to  its  own 
people.  And  when  the  governments  were  almost  entirely 
separated  from  the  people,  the  people  separated  from  the 
governments.  No  empire  ever  yet  perished  through  the 
virtues  of  its  citizens.  The  old  Confederacy  fell  into  utter 
ruin.  „ 

But  God  the  Father  watches  with  unabated  tenderness 
over  his  children.  And,  as  the  fecundating  rain  comes  forth 
from  the  tempestuous  thunder-cloud,  so  from  the  world- 
storm  came  forth  the  freedom  of  the  whole  Swiss  people. 
At  this  day  we  see,  what  was  not  the  case  before,  in  a 
space  of  nearly  nine  hundred  square  miles,  between  lakes 
Leman  and  Constance,  two  millions  of  men,  divided  into 
twenty-two  commonwealths,  all  alike  Confederates  in  free- 
dom. The  strongest  of  the  twenty-two  republics  of  the 
Swiss  Confederacy  is  doubtless  weak  and  powerless  against 
the  princes  of  the  earth ;  but  the  smallest  is  invincible,  in 
the  compact  of  all,  so  long  as  each  Confederate  fears  less  a 
second  Grandson,  Morat  and  Frastenz  than  the  craft  and 
gold  of  a  lord  Zoppo  or  a  bishop  Schinner. 

Not  from  Germany,  not  from  abroad  comes  the  enemy 
before  whom  the  Swiss  heart  should  quail.  The  most 
formidable  adversary  of  our  freedom  and  independence, 
when  he  comesr  will  appear  in  our  midst.  But  he  must 
bear  a  mark  by  which  every  one  may  know  him  :  It  is  he 
who  prefers  the  honor  of  his  own  canton  to  the  everlasting 
glory  of  the  whole  Confederacy ;  his  own  personal  or  fam- 
ily advantage  to  the  public  good.  It  is  he  who  would 
rend  asunder  the  unity  and  grandeur  of  the  Confederacy, 
and  with  the  purple  tatters  of  her  divided  majesty,  bedeck 
the  dwarfed  proportions  of  cantonal  self-sovereignty.  It  is 
he  who  trembles  at  a  sword  in  the  hand  of  a  free  people 
and  not  at  the  cajoleries  and  gifts  of  kings  and  their  em- 
bassadors.  It  is  he  who  says:  "Keduce  the  press  to  si- 
lence and  close  the  mouths  of  the  teachers  of  youth ;  put 
out  your  money  at  interest  and  expend  it  not  in  arms  and 
warlike  preparations ;  shut  the  doors  of  the  council-cham- 
bers, so  that  the  people  may  not  hear  our  deliberations ; 
thus  we  may  again  be  lords  and  masters,  and  subjects  shall 
serve  us!"  It  is  he  who  sows  distrust  between  city  and 


THE  FATHERLAND.  309 

country,  religious  hate  between  catholics  and  pfotestants, 
who  raises  barriers  between  canton  and  canton,  or  encour- 
ages that  cantonal  selfishness,  that  family  ambition,  that 
pride  of  nobility,  or  any  of  those  destructive  discords  by 
means  of  which  the  old  Confederacy  found  a  bloody  end 
in  spite  of  Neuenegg  and  Rothenthurm. 

But  we  have  learnt :  That  right  and  justice  are  stronger 
than  all  might ;  that  the  prosperity  of  each  family  is  se- 
cure under  the  laws  of  freedom  only ;  and  that  the  free- 
dom of  each  is  guaranteed  solely  by  the  independence  of 
the  Swiss  Confederacy.  But  the  independence  of  the 
Swiss  Confederacy  is  not  based  on  imperial  charters  or 
royal  promises ;  it  stands  on  an  iron  foundation :  our 
swords.  The  true  Swiss  nobility  must  come  from  the 
churches  and  schools  of  the  people.  The  real  state-treas- 
ure must  be  found  in  the  prosperity  of  all  households. 
The  great  armory  and  arsenal  of  the  Confederacy  must 
exist  in  the  chambers  of  her  citizens.  The  deliberations 
of  the  councils  and  general  assemblies  must  reach  the  ears 
of  the  whole  Confederacy.  So  shall  the  holy  cause  of  the 
fatherland  be  the  holy  cause  of  every  cabin,  and  a  godlike 
public  spirit,  like  a  celestial  fire,  consume  all  personal  and 
cantonal  selfishness. 

Neither  the  arrow  of  Tell  nor  the  dagger  of  the  Camo- 
gaster  broke  the  chains  of  Swiss  bondage.  Neither  at  St. 
Jacques  nor  on  the  Malserhaide  was  the  independence  of 
the  Swiss  Confederacy  secured.  At  Rutli  and  under  the 
maple-tree  of  Truns  only  the  signal  for  the  holy  fight  was 
given.  We  must  still  fight,  Confederates  !  And  you,  our 
children,  must  still  fight  over  our  graves !  Watch,  there- 
fore, that  you  fall  not  into  temptation !  Trust  in  God ! 
Confederates !  All  for  each,  and  each  for  all ! 


(311) 


CONTINUATION 


HISTOKY    OF    SWITZEKLAND, 


BY    EMIL    ZSCHOKKE. 


CHAPTER    LXIX. 

EXPEDITION    AGAINST    SAVOY.       OCCURRENCES    AT    8TEINHOLZLEIW. 
[A.  D.  1834.] 

SHORTLY  after  the  internal  storm  had  cleared  away,  the 
Confederacy  became  involved  in  a  no  less  troublesome  dis- 
pute with  foreign  nations.  In  consequence  of  the  distur- 
bances of  Europe,  numerous  refugees  and  exiles  had,  in 
those  days,  sought  an  asylum  on  Swiss  soil.  The  sight  of 
the  popular  freedom  here  enjoyed  aroused  in  many  of  them 
a  desire  to  behold  the  same  in  their  own  countries.  In 
hopes  to  realize  this  desire,  a  secret  league  was  formed 
among  them.  Unmindful  of  the  hospitality  they  here  re- 
ceived, they  wished,  from  the  Swiss  republics,  to  cast  the 
firebrand  of  revolution  into  the  neighboring  monarchies. 
Savoy,  especially,  was  selected,  because  the  people  there 
seemed  determined  to  get  rid  of  their  king.  Such,  at  least, 
were  the  reports  brought  by  the  Italian  refugees.  The 


312  GENERAL  ROMARINO.  [1884. 

Germans,  believing  what  they  said,  joined  them ;  among 
those  most  willing,  and  most  numerous,  were  the  Poles, 
who  still  dwelt  in  Bernese  Jura.  Tired  of  long  inactivity, 
they  hoped,  through  the  flames  of  a  general  war,  to  open 
for  themselves  a  path  back  to  their  unhappy  country.  At 
the  head  of  the  undertaking  was  placed  general  Romarino, 
who  had  won  for  himself  an  honorable  name  in  the  Polish 
struggle  for  independence. 

Towards  the  end  of  January,  1834,  the  conspirators, 
singly,  in  order  to  escape  the  vigilance  of  the  government, 
made  their  way  towards  the  shores  of  lake  Leman.  Arms 
were  secretly  provided  for  them.  But  their  purpose  could 
no  longer  be  concealed.  Vaud  and  Geneva  immediately 
called  out  troops  to  prevent  the  violation  of  foreign  terri- 
tory. It  was  alreaoy  too  late.  In  the  city  of  Geneva, 
some  stragglers  were  indeed  seized;  but  the  mob,  excited 
by  the  heroism  of  the  Poles,  impetuously  rescued  them. 
Thus  they  were  enabled  to  continue  theii  route,  and  to 
cross  the  frontiers  of  Savoy  near  Carouge  (1st  Feb.). 
Although  but  a  few  hundred  strong,  they  expected  that 
their  little  band  would  soon  be  swelled  to  an  army  by  a 
general  rising  of  the  people.  Several  customhouse-officers 
were  disarmed,  and  some  public  money  confiscated.  On 
all  sides,  printed  addresses  were  distributed,  proclaiming 
that  the  hour  for  casting  off  the  tyrant's  yoke  had  sounded. 
But  the  expected  joyful  welcome  was  wanting.  The 
Savoyard  peasants  looked  doubtfully  upon  the  array  of 
foreign  invaders  ;  no  foot  entered  their  ranks,  no  hand  was 
raised  to  help  them.  Soon  came  a  report  that  the  royal 
troops  were  advancing  by  forced  marches  from  Chambery. 
Then  Romarino  looked  behind.  Terrified  he  fled.  His 
troops,  believing  themselves  betrayed,  hastened  after  him, 
without  having  seen  an  enemy.  In  two  days,  they  were 
all  back  again  in  Geneva,  where  the  Poles  were  disarmed 
and  confined  in  the  barracks  of  Chantepoulet.  The  rest 
returned,  each  to  the  place  whence  he  had  come. 

Where  the  fire  still  smoulders  under  the  ashes,  every 
breath  of  wind  enkindles  it  afresh.  The  hatred  between 
the  Confederates  was  again  awakened  more  furious  than 
before,  when  those  who  had  been  defeated  in  the  previous 


1884.]  DIPLOMATIC   NOTES.  313 

year,  now  raising  their  heads  more  boldly,  attributed  to 
their  adversaries  the  guilt  and  shame  of  the  invasion  of 
Savoy.  Some  did  not  even  hesitate  to  excite  the  anger  of 
foreign  powers  against  their  own  people.  "  See,"  said 
they,  "  how  Switzerland  has  become  a  rendezvous  for  all 
the  disturbers  of  Europe !  Public  authority  is  impotent 
to  prevent  the  breach  of  the  laws.  The  people  are  crazed 
by  the  excitement  of  continual  insurrection.  Unless 
foreign  powers  intervene,  the  security  of  neighboring 
states  will  be  incessantly  endangered."  Such  words  found 
only  too  ready  hearers  in  the  monarchs  and  their  council- 
lors. The  aspect  of  the  free  self-sovereignty  of  the  Swiss 
people,  in  the  heart  of  Europe,  had  been  unpleasant  to  their 
eyes.  Now  came  the  desired  opportunity  to  suppress  it. 
Sardinia  first  complained.  Austria  followed  her.  In  the 
consciousness  of  overpowering  strength,  they  imperiously 
demanded  from  the  little  republic  the  expulsion  of  all  dis- 
turbers of  the  peace.  Notes  of  similar  purport  soon  made 
their  appearance,  in  quick  succession,  from  Wurtemberg, 
Baden,  Bavaria,  the  German  league,  Prussia  and  Naples ; 
finally,  even  from  distant  Russia.  The  whole  country  was 
declared  accountable  to  Europe  for  what  a  handful  of 
foreign  adventurers  had  attempted.  Hereat  indignation 
spread  throughout  all  the  cantons.  Every  one  was  willing 
to  respect  the  law  of  nations,  but  never  to  bow  to  royal 
dictation.  The  vorort  Zurich,  with  dignity,  repelled  this 
attack  on  Swiss  independence.  With  the  assent  of  most 
of  the  cantons,  she  had  already  pronounced  the  guilty 
refugees  unworthy  of  asylum.  But  this  did  not  satisfy 
the  foreign  courts.  A  second  and,  shortly  afterwards,  a 
third  shower  of  diplomatic  notes,  still  more  threatening, 
followed ;  and  already  troops  were  in  motion  from  East 
and  North,  towards  the  frontiers  of  Switzerland.  A  thick 
hedge  of  bayonets,  in  a  great  semicircle,  interdicted  trade 
and  commerce,  as  in  time  of  war. 

In  the  mean  while,  the  citizen-king  of  France,  then 
friendly  to  the  free  Confederates,  had  testified  his  willing- 
ness again  to  receive  the  Poles.  They  departed ;  with 
them  many  of  the  other  refugees.  And  as,  at  the  same 
time,  the  Vorort  gave  to  the  foreign  powers  quieting  assur- 
14  2c 


314  THE  JOURNEYMEN'S  BANQUET.  [i834 

ance  for  the  future  (24th  June),  the  latter  allowed  the  half- 
drawn  sword  to  fall  back  into  the  scabbard.  A  general 
war,  doubtful  in  its  results,  might  easily  have  been  kindled 
from  this  dispute. 

Throughout  Switzerland,  however,  there  was  still  great 
indignation  at  the  pretensions  of  the  foreign  powers.  In 
public  meetings,  the  dismissal  of  those  foreign  embassadors 
who  had  shown  their  insolence  too  openly  was  loudly 
demanded.  Even  the  last  reply  of  the  Yorort  was  stigma- 
tized by  many  as  a  cowardly  retraction.  The  deputy  from 
Berne,  especially,  opposed  it  in  the  Diet,  and,  when  it  was 
finally  approved,  protested  solemnly  against  it ;  with  him 
was  the  deputy  from  Lucerne.  Hereby  they  acquired 
great  favor  with  a  large  portion  of  the  people,  and  Berne 
was  esteemed  by  these  the  "  true  Yorort,"  to  whom  they 
must  look  for  the  maintenance  of  the  honor  of  the  Swiss 
name.  Some,  on  the  other  hand,  feared  evil  results  from 
her  rashness,  and  Grisons  proposed  that  a  council  of 
deputies  should  be  associated  with  her  in  her  next  year's 
government  of  the  Confederacy.  The  anger  of  the  mon- 
archs,  also,  was  now  turned  almost  entirely  against  this 
largest  and  most  unyielding  of  the  cantons.  This  was 
especially  the  case  when  another  circumstance  provoked  it 
afresh.  About  the  end  of  June,  at  Steinholzlein,  a  water- 
ing-place near  the  city  of  Berne,  some  journeymen,  at  a 
jovial  banquet,  which  the  German  courts  characterized  as 
seditious,  raised  the  black-red-and-golden  flag,  and  toasted 
a  German  republic.  Rumor  spread,  and  quickly  magnified, 
the  report.  To  many  envoys  of  foreign  powers  it  ap- 
peared a  conspiracy  against  the  thrones  of  their  sovereigns. 
They  demanded  a  severe  punishment  for  so  criminal  a 
demonstration.  But  the  government  of  the  Bernese  repub- 
lic answered :  "  With  us  the  free  expression  of  opinion  is 
no  crime,  and  where  no  law  is  broken  there  is  no  occasion 
.for  punishment."  Thereupon  another  long  interchange  of 
*  notes  took  place.  Finally,  the  German  envoys,  in  anger, 
left  their  old  residences  in  Berne  and  ceased  all  intercourse 
with  her  government.  German  mechanics  were  prohibited 
from  entering,  first  the  canton,  then  all  Switzerland,  because 
they  were  here  trained  as  apostles  of  insurrection ;  an 


1834.]  COUNT  BOMBELLES.  315 

order  of  the  diet  at  Frankfort  also  forbade  German  youth 
to  study  at  the  recently  established  universities  of  Berne 
and  Zurich,  and  fresh  hindrances  to  neighborly  intercourse 
were  interposed  at  the  frontiers,  to  the  injury  of  both  sides. 
Eeflection,  however,  soon  convinced  both  parties  that 
obstinacy  was  not  for  the  advantage  of  either.  Berne 
herself,  by  degrees,  modified  her  tone.  This  was  especially 
the  case  when,  with  the  beginning  of  1835,  she  became 
Vorort  of  the  Confederacy,  and  had  no  longer  to  consider 
merely  her  own  relations  with  foreign  states.  But  her 
leaning  to  moderation,  now  severely  blamed  as  weakness 
by  many  who  had  before  praised  her  opposition,  did  not  at 
once  accomplish  her  object.  Even  in  February,  count 
Bombelles,  the  Austrian  embassador  and  chief  opponent  of 
the  canton  in  the  dispute  about  the  refugees,  sent  notice  of 
the  accession  of  Ferdinand  I.,  his  imperial  master,  to  the 
throne,  by  a  simple  letter  through  the  post,  contrary  to 
custom.  This  opportunity  was  seized  upon,  nevertheless, 
in  order  to  renew  the  interrupted  correspondence.  In 
their  letter  of  congratulation,  the  state-council  of  Berne  ex- 
pressed their  regrets  for  the  occurrence  which  had  occa- 
sioned the  alienation.  But  the  reconciliation  was  still 
delayed.  It  could  only  be  looked  upon  as  accomplished, 
when  Bombelles  returned  to  Berne,  in  June.  •  These  un- 
pleasant differences  had  lasted  a  year  and  a  half.  No  one 
gained  honor  by  them  :  neither  the  powerful  states  by  their 
insolence  toward  the  weaker,  nor  the  free  by  their  dis- 
regard of  the  rights  of  their  neighbors. 


CHAPTER   LXX. 

DISPUTE    WITH    FRANCE. 
[A.  D.  1836  and  1836.] 

AT  this  time  the  hope  of  forming  a  new  and  stronger 
bond  between  the  Confederates  diminished  more  and  more. 
With  the  deputies  from  the  former  Sarnen-league,  the  spirit 


316  EDUCATION  FOSTERED.  [1835- 

of  division  always  reappeared  in  the  meetings  of  the  Diet. 
Every  step  towards  improvement  was  only  possible  after 
arduous  conflicts.  Even  for  the  introduction  of  uniform 
weights  and  measures  only  seven  cantons  gave  their  votes. 
The  nation,  however,  greeted  with  joy  the  decree  of  the 
Diet  that  its  sittings  should  thenceforth  be  public;  and 
when  it  unanimously  rejected  the  proposition  for  the  se- 
paration of  the  principality  of  Neuchatel,  it  became  evi- 
dent that  the  old  Swiss  spirit  was  not  entirely  dead. 

That  spirit  showed  itself  much  more  living,  however, 
among  the  people  than  among  their  deputies  to  the  Diet. 
It  .was  apparent  in  the  attempts  now  made  to  fortify  by 
improved  internal  arrangements  the  popular  freedom  ob- 
tained since  1830.  Everywhere,  creative  life  was  ma- 
nifested; everywhere,  magistrates,  societies,  noble-minded 
individuals  zealously  aided  each  other  to  remove  old  abuses 
or  to  introduce  ameliorations.  Above  all,  the  education 
of  youth  inspired  a  before  unknown  enthusiastic  activity. 
To  produce  a  generation  worthy  of  freedom  was  an  object 
for  the  noblest  efforts,  and  the  scientific  institutions  of  the 
cities,  as  well  as  the  poor  village-schools,  immediately  felt 
the  impulse  of  the  new  age.  The  means  of  defence  also 
were  rendered  more  efficient.  The  ancient  manliness  was 
again  strengthened  by  military  exercise  and  federal  shoot- 
ing-matches. Even  the  Diet  bestowed  more  attention  than 
ever  on  the  equipment  of  the  federal  army.  These  are 
the  strongest  ramparts  of  a  people's  independence :  en- 
lightenment of  the  mind  and  strength  in  arms.  Without 
these,  the  best  constitutions  are  but  dead  parchments, 
having  neither  vitality  nor  force. 

The  Confederacy  looked  on  approvingly,  when  even  the 
half-canton,  Bale-country,  the  youngest  child  of  their  trou- 
bles, roused  herself  with  determination  to  effect  these  great 
objects.  She  was  obliged  to  remedy  many  deficiencies  of 
earlier  times,  and,  by  wise  management,  to  propitiate  many 
troublesome  opponents.  Therefore  her  task  was  more 
difficult  than  that  of  any  of  the  others  ;  the  long  civil  dis- 
turbances had  too  much  loosened  the  bonds  of  public  order, 
and  .the  government  was  not  seldom  deprived  of  the 
necessary  assistance  from  the  people.  More  than,  once,  in 


-1836.]  LOUIS  PHILIPPE.  317 

the  beginning,  seditious  risings  took  place  in  separate  com- 
munes; as  on  the  occasion  of  the  choice  of  clergy  in 
Muttenz  and  Waldenburg,  and  afterwards,  in  Oberwyl  and 
Allschwyl.  Only  an  armed  force  could  here  secure  due 
observance  of  the  laws. 

At  this  time  another  dispute  appeared  to  threaten  more 
serious  consequences.  Two  French  Jews,  the  brothers 
"Wahl,  had  bought  an  estate  in  the  village  of  Eeinach. 
The  purchase  was  already  completed  in  the  customary 
form  when  the  state-council  annulled  it,  on  the  ground  of 
an  old  law  by  which  Jews  were  refused  admittance  to  the 
territory  of  Bale.  The  Wahls,  on  the  other  hand,  based 
their  right  on  the  treaty  between  France  and  Switzerland, 
which  authorized  such  acquisitions.  As  Bale-country  in- 
sisted on  her  position,  they  claimed  the  protection  of  their 
native  land.  Long  negotiations  now  took  place  between 
the  two  governments.  When  these  proved  fruitless,  France 
broke  off  all  intercourse  with  the  canton.  The  citizens  of 
the  latter  were  sent  out  of  the  kingdom  ;  even  the  dwellers 
on  the  border,  who  owned  farms  on  French  soil,  were  not 
permitted  to  cultivate  them.  This  unfriendly  state  of 
things  lasted  several  months.  Finally,  after  much  trouble, 
the  Vorort  settled  the  dispute.  Bale-country  was  obliged 
to  pay  a  heavy  indemnity  to  the  brothers  Wahl,  and 
France  desisted  from  further  claims. 

This  was,  however,  but  a  foretaste  to  Switzerland  of  a 
more  serious  difficulty  with  her  powerful  neighbor.  King 
Louis  Philippe,  from  this  time,  cooled  more  and  more  in 
his  friendship  towards  the  country  which  had  once  given 
him  a  hospitable  asylum  in  his  misfortunes.  His  state- 
policy  offered  this  as  a  sacrifice  to  propitiate  the  court  of 
Austria,  which  had  always  been  hostile  to  him.  An  op- 
portunity for  a  quarrel,  when  diligently  sought,  is  easily 
found.  Several  of  the  refugees,  dismissed  from  Switzerland 
on  account  of  the  Savoy-expedition,  had  returned  and 
again  formed  societies  among  themselves.  We  then  heard 
of  a  "young  Germany,"  a  "young  Italy,"  a  "young  Po- 
land ;"  a  plan  of  theirs  for  an  armed  invasion  of  the  grand- 
duchy  of  Baden  was  discovered.  Then  the  Vorort  deter- 
mined again  to  send  away  these  disturbers  of  the  peace,  and 

2c* 


318  THE   DUKE   OF   MOXTEBELLO.  [1835- 

requested  France  (June,  1836)  to  allow  them  a  free  passage, 
as  she  had  before  done.     This  was  granted  ;  but  the  reply 
of  the  French  embassador,  the  duke  of  Montebello,was  in 
the  tone  of  an  angry  lord  towards  his  dependants.     Never 
before  had  the  governments  of  Switzerland  been  addresser' 
so  disrespectfully.     It  was  even  reported  that  Montebello," 
in  an  evening  visit,  had  threatened  the  grey-haired  presi- 
dent of  the  Confederacy,  Tscharner  of  Berne,  with  a  strk 
blockade  of  the  frontiers  of  Switzerland,  in  case  she  die 
not  readily  yield  to  his  demands.     No  free  people  can  en- 
dure such  arrogance.     The  whole  country  was  aroused,       ' 
a  cry  of  the  deepest  indignation  resounded  through  all  the 
cantons.     Public  meetings  were  called  by  men  of  influence : 
first  in  Flawy  1,  canton  of  St.  Gallen ;  then  simultaneously  am 
in  unprecedented  numbers,  the  citizens  of  almost  all  the  re 
spective  districts  assembled  at  Wohlenschwyl  in  Aargau, 
at  Reiden  in  the  canton  of  Lucerne,  at  Wiedikon  near  Zu- 
rich, and  at  Munsingen  in  the  canton  of  Berne.     Manj 
thousands,  and  among  them  the  noblest  of  the  Confede 
rates,  unanimously  demanded  of  the  Diet  the  maintenam 
of  the  Swiss  honor.     The  Diet,  supported  by  such  a  man- 
ifestation of  public  feeling,  replied  to  the  French  note 
became  rulers  to  whom  the  independence  of  their  fatherlane 
is  an  inviolably  sacred  treasure.     Only  the  Sarnen-cantons, 
who  unwillingly  acknowledged  even   the  vorortship   of 
Berne,  voted  for  abject  submission. 

A  few  days  afterwards,  another  circumstance  blew  into 
fresh  flame  the  fire  of  just  indignation  against  Montebello. 
He  himself  had  requested  the  Vorort  to  banish  a  French- 
man of  the  name  of  Conseil,  as  an  accomplice  of  the  regi- 
cide Fieschi  and  a  dangerous  refugee.  Conseil  was 
therefore  arrested  at  Nidau  (10  Aug.).  But  it  was  proved, 
by  the  papers  found  and  the  examinations  made,  that,  in 
contradiction  to  Montebello's  complaint,  he  was  a  secret 
spy  of  France,  sent  to  watch  the  other  refugees.  In  fur- 
therance of  this  object,  he  had  quite  recently  received,  from 
the  embassador's  office,  money  arid  a  passport  under  a  false 
name.  The  tidings  of  such  dishonorable  treachery  quickly 
spread.  Every  one  felt  that  this  was  a  contemptuous  dis- 
regard of  international  rights.  The  Diet  itself  took  the 


-1836-]  THE   FRENCH   BLOCKADE.  319 

matter  in  hand.  A  report,  made  by  Keller  of  Zurich  and 
Monnard  of  Lausanne,  fearlessly  unveiling  the  deception, 
was  widely  circulated  in  Switzerland  as  well  as  in  France. 
It  excited  indignation  in  both  countries.  Even  in  the  cham- 
ber of  deputies  at  Paris,  the  minister  was  called  to  account 
therefor.  The  Diet  decided,  by  a  small  majority,  to  com- 
plain of  the  embassador  to  his  government  and  to  transmit 
the  documents.  The  Vorort,  however,  for  fear  of  more  se- 
riously irritating  the  French  cabinet,  declined  to  carry  out 
this  decision.  On  its  mere  publication  in  the  newspapers, 
actual  hostilities  were  threatened  by  France.  A  new  note 
of  the  embassador  (29  Sept.)  demanded  a  signal  satisfaction 
for  the  insult.  Shortly  after,  the  western  portion  of  Switz- 
erland was  u  hermetically  sealed"  until  such  satisfaction 
should  be  given.  From  Bale  to  Geneva,  no  one  could  pass 
the  line  in  either  direction ;  even  the  mails  were  stopped. 
French  troops,  in  long  array,  kept  guard. 

But  the  Swiss  people  were  not  terrified  thereat.  The 
traders  of  many  cantons,  of  their  own  accord,  ceased  all  in- 
tercourse with  France.  Popular  meetings  contributed 
money  in  aid  of  the  more  injuriously-affected  border-inhab- 
itants. There  was  much  more  murmuring  in  France  itself 
against  such  manifest  injustice,  and  the  royal  government, 
feeling  that  it  had  gone  too  far,  soon  desired  an  accommo- 
dation. The  Vorort  called  together  the  recently -adjourned 
Diet,  who  solemnly  declared  that  they  had  yielded  author- 
ity to  no  foreign  state  to  interfere  in  Swiss  affairs.  Then 
they  approved  of  the  non-fulfilment  of  their  decision  in  the 
matter  of  Conseil,  and  declared  that  they  had  no  intention 
to  offend  the  French  government  thereby.  This  declara- 
tion sent  by  courier  to  Paris,  was  the  re  received  as  welcome 
tidings  of  peace.  The  blockade  was  raised  after  six  weeks' 
duration  (from  1  October  to  middle  of  November),  and  in 
the  same  winter,  Montebello  gave  a  grand  reconciliatory 
entertainment. 

A  result,  worthy  of  note,  followed  this  dispute,  however. 
In  the  canton  of  Berne,  the  vacillation  of  the  government 
had  awakened  in  many  the  desire  for  a  complete  return  to 
the  old  state  of  things.  With  this  object,  several  societies 
had  been  formed  under  the  name  of  "Safety-unions,"  which 


320  THE  SAFETY-UNIONS.  [1834- 

were  tools  in  the  hands  of  the  defunct  aristocracy.  Their 
committees  met  more  and  more  boldly  in  the  Casino  of  the 
capital-city.  But  now,  both  people  and  magistrates  deter- 
mined to  put  a  stop  to  such  dangerous  movements.  After 
quite  stormy  discussions,  the  great  council  dissolved  the 
safety-unions  (8  March,  1837).  But  their  members  were 
not  quieted.  At  Brienzwyler  in  Oberland,  they  preached 
open  rebellion.  Armed  troops  of  volunteers  immediately 
hastened  from  Thun,  over  the  lake,  to  put  them  down, 
and  public  order  was  once  more  saved  from  the  danger  of 
subversion.. 


CHAPTER  LXXI. 

PROTOCOL   OF    THE   BADEN-CONFERENCE;    ITS  OCCASION   ASD 
CONSEQUENCES. 

[A.  D.  1834  to  1885.] 

THE  popular  freedom  of  the  Confederates  soon  had  to 
withstand  still  more  serious  aggressions.  The  most  dan- 
gerous foreign  enemy  came  not  from  the  borders  of  Aus- 
tria or  of  France,  but  from  the  ultramontane  Rome,  always 
striving  for  the  empire  of  the  world.  Ever  since  the  days 
when  Napoleon  Buonaparte's  imperial  throne  had  fallen  in 
rains,  the  papal  court  bad  employed  every  means  to  re- 
cover its  old  church -dominion  of  the  middle  ages.  To 
secure  the  thrones  and  altars  of  Europe,  no  method  ap- 
peared more  efficacious  than  to  bring  the  nations  back  to 
blind  submission  to  doctrine.  Switzerland  was  of  no 
small  importance  in  this  scheme  of  conquest.  The  old 
church-piety  of  her  mountaineers,  her  republican  forms  of 
government,  the  division  of  the  country  into  many  small 
states  and  their  jealousy  of  each  other,  must  be  more 
favorable  to  such  a  design  than  could  be  the  case  in  mon- 
archies. From  her  situation  in  the  centre  of  Europe, 
Switzerland  would  also  be  very  useful  as  an  advanced 
post  against  other  countries.  Therefore  the  Roman  cabinet 
especially  endeavored  to  obtain  a  great  influence  here. 


-1836.]  THE   FOLLOWERS   OF  LOYOLA.  321 

The  papal  nuncio  had  already  (1814)  reoccupied  his  an- 
cient seat  in  Lucerne.  His  aims  were  directed  towards 
assuring  the  inviolability  of  the  numerous  convents  and 
ecclesiastical  establishments,  under  the  twelfth  article  of 
the  new  confederate  league.  With  this  object,  the  old 
bishoprics  were  split  into  smaller  ones,  that  the  divisions 
might  be  more  easily  commanded.  The  desire  of  the 
more  intelligent  of  the  people  for  a  Swiss  archbishop  was 
entirely  disregarded.  The  nuncio  filled  the  office  of  chief 
shepherd  directly  in  the  name  of  the  holy  father.  The 
order  of  Loyola,  also,  immediately  upon  its  ree'stablish- 
ment  after  its  seeming  death  of  seventy  years,  secured  a 
firm  footing  in  Viilais  (1814).  Four  years  afterwards,  it 
established  a  splendid  central  point  of  operations  at  Frei- 
burg. The  effects  of  this  upon  a  wide  circle  were  soon 
perceptible  in  the  subjugation  of  the  popular  mind  to  the 
yoke  of  priestly  domination,  as  well  as  in  the  increasing 
intolerance  between  catholics  and  reformed. 

But  in  the  beginning  of  1830,  the  rising  of  the  Swiss 
people  for  freedom  seemed  to  circumscribe  the  further 
advance  of  the  Roman  power.  Many  nattered  themselves 
that  it  was  forever  rendered  impotent.  Vain  delusion  1 
The  operation  of  the  national  constitutions  and  laws  unex- 
pectedly opened  to  the  Romanists  a  way  to  greater  influ- 
ence over  the  masses  than  before.  Popular  elections,  the 
right  to  form  associations,  the  press :  freedom's  weapons, 
were  cunningly  turned  into  arms  against  her.  With  untir- 
ing perseverance,  church-questions  were  introduced  into 
party-disputes  respecting  municipal  matters.  A  great 
association  of  co-believers  soon  spread  like  a  net  over  the 
whole  land.  Around  the  banner  of  the  church  gathered 
catholic  popular-unions,  strongly  united,  with  priests  as 
leaders:  especially  numerous  in  some  districts  of  St.  Gal- 
len,  in  the  free- bailiwicks  of  Aargau  and  in  Bernese 
Leberberg.  Where,  shortly  before,  "  Freedom  and  the 
constitution"  was  the  watchword  in  the  mouths  of  all, 
now  sounded  the  war-cry :  "  Religion  is  in  danger."  From 
the  foreign  Propaganda  and  the  richest  convents,  money 
flowed  in  to  support  the  secret  league.  Its  leading  director 
was  the  papal  nuncio,  and  with  him  abbot  Celestin  of 
14* 


322  ALOYS  FUCHS.  [1834- 

Einsiedlen.     The  free  spirit  of  the  nation  was  regarded  as 
a  common  enemy. 

That  which  had  originally  been  prepared  in  secret,  was 
now  boldly  carried  into  open  effect.  Persecutions  against 
those  who  believed  differently  were  soon  commenced. 
When  priest  Aloys  Fuchs,  by  preaching  and  writing,  en- 
deavored to  reform  numerous  church-abuses  in  the  chapter 
of  Uznach,  he  was  called  to  account  before  an  ecclesias- 
tical inquisition  at  St.  Gallen.  In  vain  did  he  defend  his 
course  with  noble  ingenuousness.  As  he  would  not  re- 
tract, the  judges  condemned  his  teachings  as  irreligious, 
and  prohibited  him  the  exercise  of  his  priestly  office.  The 
bishop  of  Coire  confirmed  the  sentence ;  Fuchs,  however, 
was  honored  by  public  opinion  as  a  martyr  for  the  truth. 

But  when,  at  last,  the  pride  of  some  bishops  and  priests 
led  them  to  interfere  in  the  management  of  the  state,  then 
the  forbearance  of  the  governments  came  to  an  end.  Ab- 
solute necessity  called  for  a  general  determined  action  to 
restrain  the  pretensions  of  the  church  within  her  proper 
limits.  Deputies  from  Berne,  Lucerne,  Solothurn,  Bale- 
country,  Aargau,  Thurgau  and  St.  Gallen  met  immedi- 
ately in  conference  at  Baden.  Here  they  came  to  an 
understanding  respecting  the  rights  of  the  state  in  church- 
matters.  Those  rights  which  had  long  existed  in  part, 
and  which  were  even  affirmed  by  law  in  most  monarchies, 
were  secured  for  all :  the  Placet*  respecting  the  mandates 
of  church-dignitaries,  the  right  of  mixed  marriages,  the 
priestly-office  oath  to  maintain  the  constitution.  Steps 
were  also  taken  towards  a  negotiation  with  the  papal  see 
for  the  establishment  of  a  Swiss  archbishopric  and  a 
priest's  seminary,  as  well  as  respecting  the  observance  of 
holy  days  and  the  holding  of  synods  (14  January,  1834). 
All  well-intentioned  men  looked  more  confidingly  to  the 
future ;  but  they  were  most  bitterly  undeceived. 

For,  as  soon  as  the  protocol  of  the  Baden-conference 
was  published,  suddenly  and  simultaneously  from  most  of 
the  catholic  districts  arose  a  cry  of  indignation  on  the 

*  This  relates  to  the  form  by  which  the  civil  authorities  approve  of 
church-decrees  and  assent  to  their  promulgation. 


-1836.]  POPE   GREGORY  XVI.  323 

part  of  the  Romanists  against  it,  as  against  an  unprece- 
dented abuse  of  power.  Curses  and  threats  were  neard 
even  from  consecrated  places.  And  the  tumult  increased 
when  pope  Gregory  XVI.  himself,  in  a  circular  epistle, 
condemned  the  several  articles  as  "  false,  erring,  an  en- 
croachment on  the  rights  of  the  holy  see,  destructive  to 
the  government  of  the  church,  tending  to  heresy,  and 
schismatic."  (23  October,  1835.)  He,  who  should  be  a 
prince  of  peace,  cast  thereby  the  firebrand  of  long  years 
of  civil  discord  into  the  Helvetian  Alpine  land.  The  dis- 
pute blazed  high  everywhere.  In  Solothurn,  where  it 
was  very  virulent,  the  great-council  dared  not  adopt  the 
Baden-articles.  In  St.  Grallen,  they  were  rejected  by  the 
people,  in  prolonged  general  assemblies,  excited  thereto 
by  the  party  of  the  zealots,  contemptuously  styled  "  red- 
stockings."  In  Lucerne,  which  accepted  them,  the  people 
could  hardly  be  pacified  by  the  representations  of  the 
government  The  solemn  declaration  of  the  latter,  drawn 
up  by  the  clever  hand  of  the  secretary  of  state,  Constan- 
tine  Siegwart,  was  even  inserted  by  the  pope,  as  heretical, 
in  the  list  of  prohibited  publications.  Shortly  afterwards, 
the  nuncio,  in  anger  and  without  leave-taking,  quitted 
Lucerne  in  the  dusk  of  early  dawn,  and  retired  into 
Schwyz  (29  November,  1835).  Thurgau  adopted  the  arti- 
cles in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  her  clergy;  but  open 
rebellion  took  place  in  Aargau  and  Berne. 

In  vain  had  the  great-council  of  Aargau  published  a 
quieting  address  to  the  people  at  the  same  time  with  the 
Baden-articles-,  which  it  approved.  No  quiet  resulted. 
The  priests  of  many  of  the  catholic  communes  even  re- 
fused to  read  the  address  at  the  Sunday-service,  as  they 
were  ordered  (May,  1835).  When  this  disobedience  was 
punished  by  the  tribunals  with  suspension  of  functions  and 
fines,- the  bishop  of  Bale  refused  to  enforce  the  judicial 
sentence.  A  great  dispute  arose  between  the  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  magistrates.  The  former  were  unwilling  to 
have  the  reins  of  legal  authority  wrested  from  them.  u  To 
the  church,"  said  they,  *(  belongs  that  which  is  of  the 
church  ;  but  to  the  state,  no  less,  that  which  is  of  the  state." 
Accordingly,  in  that  same  year,  the  oath  o.f  allegiance  was 


324  THE  ABBEY  OF  HURL  [1884- 

required  from  the  beneficed  clergy,  without  prejudice  to 
the  obedience  due  to  their  superiors  in  ecclesiastical  mat- 
ters. The  same  form  of  oath  had  already  been  allowed 
by  the  bishop,  in  other  districts.  But  the  dispute,  once 
commenced,  increased  in  vehemence.  About  the  same 
time  (7th  Nov.)  appeared  the  decree  of  the  great-council 
for  a  state-supervision  of  the  property  of  those  cantonal 
monasteries  and  nunneries  which  had  been  mismanaged. 
Then  the  signal  for  open  resistance  came  from  the  abbey 
of  Muri  and  its  dependencies.  The  pretence  was  that  the 
official  oath  required  of  the  priests  threatened  the  holy 
ancestral  faith.  Excited  assemblages  took  place ;  a  second 
free-bailiwick-invasion  of  Aargau  was  already  meditated, 
and  the  country  was  shaken  from  its  peace  by  the  antici- 
pated horrors  of  a  religious  war.  The  government  once 
more  strenuously  exerted  itself  to  restore  quiet.  When 
its  words  remained  unheard  in  the  uproar,  it  called  for 
troops.  The  neighboring  cantons,  Bale-country  especially, 
immediately  sent  assistance.  The  free-bailiwicks  were  oc- 
cupied, without  stroke  of  sword  (26th  Nov.).  The  excit- 
ers of  the  people  fled,  terrified.  Many  of  them,  even  some 
priests,  were  condemned  by  the  courts,  and  the  catholic 
unions  were  dissolved.  Thus  order  was  quickly  restored. 
To  complete  the  work  of  peace,  the  great-council  issued  a 
solemn  declaration  that  the  priestly  oath  of  office  in  no 
way  impugned  the  catholic  faith.  Finally,  the  pastors 
took  it  without  further  opposition.  Shortly  afterwards, 
the  unfortunate  misled  people  were,  with  great  clemency, 
relieved  from  paying  the  costs  of  occupation.  Notwith- 
standing all  this,  discontent  still  existed  in  several  places, 
for  a  long  time.  Many  awaited  only  a  favorable  oppor- 
tunity to  rise  in  fresh  opposition. 

Not  long  after  these  occurren'ces  in  Aargau,  an  outbreak 
followed  in  Bernese  Jura.  These  mountain-valleys  con- 
tain a  strongly  catholic  and  excitable  population.  When 
the  government  of  the  canton  had  voted  in  favor  of  the 
Baden-articles  (Feb.,  1836),  the  same  influences  were 
brought  to  bear  here  as  on  the  Reuss.  Sermons  of  priests 
and  distributions  of  miracle-working  medals  excited  the 
people  to  raging  fanaticism.  From  the  catholic  communes, 


-1836.]  BERNE'S  FALSE  STEP.  325 

where  French  is  spoken,  rose,  louder  than  elsewhere,  the 
cry  of  "  Religion  is  in  danger."  Cuttat,  the  city-priest  of 
Pruntrut,  an  official  of  the  nuncio,  led  the  movement. 
From  Pruntrut,  it  spread  quickly  into  the  neighboring 
villages.  Here,  excited  women,  bearing  banners  and 
crosses,  travelled  about,  calling  on  the  people  to  resist. 
Liberty-trees  were  planted ;  magistrates  insulted ;  separa- 
tion from  Berne  demanded.  Vicar  Belet  even  negotiated 
secretly  with  the  French  embassador  for  the  interference 
of  foreign  power.  Here,  also,  the  government  first  at- 
tempted to  avert  greater  disturbance  by  sending  commis- 
sioners ;  here  also,  after  all  other  measures  had  failed,  they 
were  finally  compelled  to  restore  order  by  force  of  arms 
(10th  March).  Now,  the  ringleaders  fled,  the  liberty-trees 
fell,  and  the  people,  once  more  sobered,  acknowledged  that 
lies  and  fraud,  and  even  high  treason  towards  the  state, 
had  been  covered  by  the  false  cloak  of  zeal  for  religion. 
But,  in  spite  of  their  victory,  the  government  did  not  long 
maintain  their  advantage.  It  was  proposed  to  the  great- 
council,  by  the  advice,  it  is  said,  of  the  before-mentioned 
French  embassador,  to  negotiate  with  the  pope  himself  re- 
specting the  adrnissibility  of  the  articles  he  had  condemned. 
In  secret  session  (2d  July)  the  proposition  was  accepted  by 
the  representatives  of  the  people. 

This  retrograde  step  on  the  part  of  Berne  nullified  all 
proceedings  since  the  concordat  of  Baden,  and  prepared  for 
its  opponents  a  great  and  unexpected  triumph.  The  pol- 
icy of  Rome  never  draws  back;  where  she  can  introduce 
a  finger,  she  soon  grasps  with  the  whole  hand.  Now  first 
began  the  real  work  of  exciting  the  people  against  the  lib- 
eral governments  ;  now  first  were  the  hellish  seeds  of  dis- 
cord sown  in  the  minds  of  men  by  a  regular  system  of 
preachings  and  publications.  And  therewithal,  those  un- 
tiring champions  of  the  church,  the  Jesuits,  that  they  might 
be  nearer  to  the  theatre  of  operations,  were  invited  to 
Schwyz,  then  the  residence  of  the  nuncio.  Their  entrance 
was  solemnized  in  May.  All  friends  of  the  fatherland 
were  terrified  thereat ;  but  no  general  assembly,  no  can- 
tonal government,  no  Vorort,  raised  a  voice  in  protest. 

20 


326  THE  BISHOP  OF  COIKE.  [1837- 


CHAPTER  LXXII. 

CONSTITUTIONAL     QUARREL    IN     GLARUS.       CONTEST     BETWEEN     THK 
HORNER8    AND    KLAUEN8    IN    SCHWYZ.        LOUIS    NAPOLEON. 

[A.  D.  1837  and  1838.] 

No  Alpine  valley  was  so  secluded,  no  people's  peace  so 
sacred  as  to  prevent  an  attempt  to  kindle  the  fire  of  re- 
ligious discord.  This  Glarus  also  experienced.  Hitherto 
this  little  state,  poor  in  consequence  of  the  rugged  ness  of 
her  soil  yet  made  comfortable  by  the  industry  of  her 
inhabitants,  had  remained  almost  undisturbed  by  the  ex- 
citement of  the  times.  But  now,  a  serious  quarrel  unex- 
pectedly took  place  in  consequence  of  a  reasonable  desire. 
The  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Nafels  had  always  been 
solemnized  separately  by  the  two  church-parties.  Many, 
however,  had  long  desired  to  celebrate  the  hero-day  of 
their  fathers  in  brotherly  union.  The  general  assembly 
voted  to  that  effect  (1835).  But  the  catholic  clergy  vio- 
lently opposed  this  measure ;  especially  Tschudi,  a  priest 
of  Glarus,  whom  bishop  Bossi  of  Coire  supported  by  his 
authority.  When,  notwithstanding  this,  the  anniversary 
of  the  battle  of  Nafels  was  celebrated  in  common  at  the 
monuments  on  the  election-field,  the  priestly  anger  gushed 
forth  over  the  land  in  unmeasured  condemnation  of  the 
proceeding.  But  the  free  minds  of  the  free  people  of 
Glarus  revolted  at  this,  and  they  said :  "  The  priests  are 
citizens  like  the  rest  of  us,  and  subject  to  the  same  laws. 
No  foreign  bishop  shall  interfere  in  our  private  state- 
affairs."  Thereupon,  it  was  decreed  that  the  priests  of  the 
canton  should  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  (29th  May,  1836), 
and  at  the  same  time  a  change  in  the  constitution  was  de- 
cided upon  in  order  to  abolish  every  distinction  between 
the  church 'parties.  Hitherto,  for  a  long  while,  the  re- 
formed and  the  catholics  had  had  separate  positions  in  the 
general  assemblies  held  in  common,  and  each  division  had 
its  peculiar  officers.  Now  began  a  new  building  upon  the 
foundation-stone  of  the  legal  equality  of  all.  The  clergy 


-1838.]  THE   PRIMITIVE  CANTONS.  327 

and  their  partisans  did  all  in  their  power  to  hinder  this. 
As  the  party  of  catholics  in  Glarus  itself  was  very  weak, 
for  it  numbered  only  an  eighth  of  the  population,  the  as- 
sistance of  other  states,  especially  of  Schwyz  and  IJri,  was 
called  in.  The  noise  of  this  dispute  soon  filled  all  Switzer- 
land. But  the  people  of  Glarus,  strong  in  their  good  right, 
pursued  their  legal  course  undaunted.  The  new  constitu- 
tion was  adopted  (2d  Oct.)  by  thousands  of  votes.  But 
when,  the  next  year,  deputies  of  both  religions,  chosen  by 
the  assembled  people,  appeared  at  the  Diet,  the  Urcan- 
tons*  protested  vehemently."  They  wished  to  expel  the 
deputies  aftid.  to  annul  the  constitution.  In  spite  of  them 
the  Diet,  though  by  but  a  small  majority,  disregarded  their 
proposition  and  passed  to  the  order  of  the  day.  The  re- 
quirements of  Swiss  brotherhood  achieved  a  victory  over 
church-party-spirit.  But  the  partisans  were  not  quieted 
in  Glarus,  until  the  government  seriously  threatened  to 
punish  them.  Then  they  finally  submitted  to  necessity. 

Still  more  violently  did  a  civil  storm  rage  shortly  after- 
wards in  neighboring  Schwyz.  Ever  since  this  divided 
canton  had  been  reunited  in  1833  by  the  armed  interfe- 
rence of  the  Confederates,  the  wound  had  been  only  scarred 
over,  not  healed.  Those  who  longed  for  a  restoration  of 
their  old  domination  constantly  played  an  artful  game. 
This  was  made  manifest  when  (1836)  the  Confederate  gov- 
ernment, after  unremitting  urgings  and  petitions,  had  re- 
leased them  from  payment  of  the  costs  of  occupation. 
Then  the  chiefs  of  the  "old  free-land"  with  fresh,  impe- 
rious haughtiness,  at  once  displayed  their  rancor  against 
the  Confederate  states,  and.especially  against  the  formerly 
subject  Outer-district.  With  them  was  the  abbey  Maria 
Emsiedeln,  and  the  majority  of  the  clergy,  most  promi- 
nently the  nuncio  and  the  Jesuits.  Manifold  intrigues, 
arbitrary  judicial  sentences,  public  insults,  even  persecu- 
tion of  their  opponents,  constantly  widened  the  breach. 
Finally,  a  strange  dispute  in  the  "old  laud"  gave  oppor- 
tunity lor  an  outbreak.  There  had  been,  for  many  years, 


*  Urcantons— original  or  primitive  cantons— Uri,  Schwyz  and  Unter- 
walden. 


328  ASSEMBLY  AT  ROTHENTHURM.  [188T- 

in  the  Schwyz  district,  a  law-suit  respecting  the  use  of  certain 
extensive  common  pnstures  (Allrnenden).  The  rich  there  fed 
their  large  herds  of  horned  cattle,  and  pleaded  long-estab- 
lished custom ;  but  the  poor,  who  had  only  a  few  sheep 
and  goats,  found  themselves  restricted,  and  demanded  a 
division  of  this  common  property  on  equal  terms.  Hate- 
ful envy  intermingled  her  poison.  When  the  court  de- 
cided in  favor  of  the  cattle-owners  (Homers),  the  sheep- 
owners  (Klauens)  united  with  the  Outer-district.  So 
the  matter  became  a  political  apple-of-discord.  At  the 
anxiously-expected  general  assembly  of  1838,  the  new 
choice  of  magistrates  was  to  determine  who  should  be  mas- 
ters in  the  land.  Nazar  Reding  was  the  champion  of  the 
Klauens  ;  Theodore  Abyberg-,  formerly  leader  in  the  inva- 
sion of  Kussnacht,  of  the  Homers.  Monks  and  Jesuits, 
fearful  of  a  diminution  of  their  influence  if  the  former  pre- 
vailed, used  every  method  to  encourage  their  adherents. 
The  pretensions  of  the  Klauens  were  declared  in  chapter 
of  the  priests  to  be  injurious  to  religion,  and  denounced 
from  the  pulpits.  Even  bribery  was  frequently  attempted. 
Thus  dawned  the  first  Sunday  in  May.  The  people  as- 
sembled on  the  field  near  Rothenthurm.  The  parties  took 
their  stands  separately  in  front  of  the  platform  on  which 
the  magistrates  were  seated.  The  storm  broke  forth  im- 
mediately on  the  election  of  tellers,  which  seemed  to  in- 
dicate a  preponderance  in  favor'  of  the  Klauens.  Then, 
suddenly,  on  a  given  signal,  the  Homers,  armed  with  clubs, 
rushed  upon  their  opponents.  A  savage,  even  bloody, 
hand  to  hand  conflict  took  place.  The  party  of  the  lib- 
erals, forced  to  fly,  dispersed  in  every  direction.  The 
general  assembly  was  necessarily  dissolved. 

That  day  shook  the  state  to  its  foundations.  The  Outer- 
district  once  more  called  for  a  division  of  the  canton.  The 
Vorort  did  indeed  hastily  send  mediators;  but  they  re- 
turned without  accomplishing  any  thing,  mocked  by  the 
leaders  in  Schwyz.  These  latter,  at  a  second  general  as- 
sembly (17th  June),  from  which  the  Klauens  absented 
themselves,  succeeded  in  securing  the  votes.  This  result 
was  again  violently  disputed  by  their  opponents.  The 
whole  Confederacy  took  sides,  for  or  against.  The  Diet 


-1888.]  QUEEN   HORTENSE.  329 

was  obliged  to  enjoin  peace.  A  numerous  deputation 
from  this  body  summoned  a  third  general  assembly  (16th 
August),  and  the  proceedings  took  place  in  their  presence. 
In  the  mean  while,  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities 
had  won  over  a  majority  of  the  people,  and  their  victory 
was  complete  and  decided.  When,  thereupon,  the  Diet 
recommended  forgetfulness  of  all  that  had  occurred,  the 
Outer-district  reluctantly  submitted,  and  every  thing  re- 
turned to  its  old  course. 

This  storm  was  not  yet  entirely  cleared  away,  when  all 
eyes  in  Switzerland  were  turned  towards  France,  whence 
threatening  clouds  arose.  A  single  individual  caused  the 
two  nations  to  arm  against  each  other:  Louis  Napoleon,  a 
nephew  of  the  great  dead  emperor.  With  his  mother, 
queen  Hortense,  he  had  established  himself  at  the  castle 
of  Arenaberg,  in  beautiful  Thurgau,  and  had  become  a  cit- 
izen of  the  canton.  He  was  welcomed  among  the  vigor- 
ous Swiss  youth  at  the  school  for  military  exercise  in 
Thun,  and  at  the  joyous  public  festivals.  But,  notwith- 
standing the  republican  tendencies  which  he  seemed  to 
cherish,  the  prince  had  not  forgotten  the  brilliant  destiny 
to  which  his  birth  had  called  him.  In  October,  1837,  at 
Strassburg,  with  the  hope  of  recovering  the  throne  of 
France,  he. entered  the  country  from  which  his  family  had 
been  banished.  He  thought  that  the  magic  of  his  name 
would  quickly  bring  the  garrison  and  burghers  of  the  city 
to  his  standard.  But,  instead  of  the  expected  crown,  im- 
prisonment and  exile  to  America  were  his  lot.  Soon, 
without  notice,  he  recrossed  the  ocean,  to  be  present  at  his 
mother's  bed  of  sickness;  and,  even  after  her  death,  he  re- 
mained in  Thurgau.  Then  France  requested  the  Confede- 
rates to  expel  this  dangerous  claimant  of  the  crown,  corn- 
plaining  that  Arenaberg  was  a  nest  of  conspirators  (1st 
August,  1838).  In  the  newly-assernbled  Diet,  the  deputy 
from  Thurgau  declared  that  the  prince  was  a  citizen  of  that 
canton:  he  therefore  kept  quiet,  the  government  would 
protect  him  in  his  rights.  With  the  deputy  from  Aargau, 
those  of  the  western  cantons  most  strenuously  insisted  on 
the  inviolable  independence  of  the  nation.  They  desired 
that  the  improper  demand  of  France  should  be  rejected. 


850  MARTIAL  ENTHUSIASM.  [1888, 

But  other  deputies  were  less  firm.  The  Diet  decided  that 
instructions  must  first  be  received  from  the  great-councils 
of  the  several  cantons.  Then  the  French  government,  dis- 
pleased at  this  delay,  threatened  force.  Troops  advanced 
from  Lyons  towards  the  Swiss  frontier.  General  Aymarr 
in  an  order  of  the  day,  informed  his  soldiers  that  they  were 
called  out  to  chastise  refractory  neighbors.  As  soon  as 
the  report  of  this  spread,  Geneva  and  Vaud,  most  exposed 
to  attack,  rushed  suddenly  to  arms.  A  great  enthusiasm 
for  their  fatherland  seized  upon  all  the  people.  In  a  few 
days,  twenty-five  thousand  men  stood  in  arms,  the  fron- 
tiers were  occupied,  and  the  fortifications  of  Geneva  bris- 
tled with  cannon.  When  the  enemy's  forces  reached  the 
little  frontier  district  of  Gex,  imagining  that  terror  and 
confusion  prevailed  beyond  the  border,  they  unexpectedly 
found  themselves  in  presence  of  a  courageous  army.  Ac- 
cident might  at  any  moment  have  produced  a  collision. 
One  canton  after  another  voted  to  reject  the  demand  of 
France  ;  the  warlike  fire  on  lake  Leman  enkindled  a  like 
enthusiasm  in  the  minds  of  all  the  Swiss  people.  At  this 
ominous  hour,  a  letter  from  prince  Napoleon  was  received 
by  the  president  of  the  Diet:  he  would  voluntarily  depart, 
in  order  not  to  occasion  a  breach  between  two  friendly  na- 
tions. At  the  same  time  he  left  Thurgau  and  Switzerland. 
France  seized  the  welcome  opportunity  to  renew  her  pro- 
fessions of  friendship.  Her  politic  king,  Louis  Philippe, 
who  had  made  so  many  sacrifices  for  the  peace  of  Eu- 
rope, had  only  wished  to  intimidate  his  opponents.  At 
so  determined  a  resistance,  the  desirability  of  exposing 
his  kingdom  to  the  chances  of  war  became  doubtful.  As 
soon  as  his  troops  left  the  frontier,  the  Confederates  also 
returned  home,  joyful  in  the  conviction  that  the  old  hero- 
spirit  of  the  fathers  was  still  to  be  found  in  the  sons  on  the 
day  of  need. 


1889.]  DAVID  FREDERIC  STRAUSS.  331 


CHAPTER  LXXIII. 

EXPLOSIOK   AT    ZURICH. 
[A.D.  1839.] 

WITH  the  foreign  difficulty  vanished  also  the  internal 
union  which  it  had  for  a  short  time  produced.  The  al- 
ways watchful  enemies  of  popular  freedom  prepared  to 
deal  a  decisive  blow.  And  they  first  succeeded  where  no 
one  expected  it,  at  Zurich. 

Here,  liberty  bad  diffused  her  choicest  blessings,  as  in 
almost  no  other  region  of  the  Confederacy.  Industry  and 
comfort  prevailed ;  newly-constructed  highways  promoted 
commerce  ;  by  means  of  the  public  schools,  in  the  improve- 
ment of  which  Thomas  Scherr,  a  naturalized  citizen  of  Ger- 
man birth,  was  actively  efficient,  a  well  educated  genera- 
tion was  growing  up,  and,  by  her  new  university,  Zurich 
had  become  a  far-shining  star  of  science  and  art.  The  en- 
virons of  many  villages  and  of  the  capital-city,  especially 
since  the  levelling  of  her  old  fortification  walls,  had  been 
greatly  embellished ;  numerous  public  buildings,  of  almost 
regal  magnificence  and  devoted  to  noble  institutions,  had 
been  erected.  But,  in  spite  of  all  these  creations  of  the 
new  age,  the  old  aristocracy  remained  unreconciled.  They 
could  not  brook  the  loss  of  their  privileges;  they  still 
hoped  for  a  restoration  of  their  old  domination.  Every 
fault  of  the  government  was  eagerly  watched  for,  to  be 
used  for  its  destruction.  The  desired  opportunity  was 
found,  shortly  after  Zurich  entered  upon  the  functions  of 
Vorort,  with  the  year  1839. 

Then,  in  the  pride  of  prosperity  and  under  the  pressure 
of  increasing  demands  for  progress,  the  government  un- 
dertook the  work  of  introducing  the  science  of  the  age 
into  religious  matters  also.  On  motion  of  the  council  of 
education,  they  invited  David  Frederic  Strauss  of  Wurtem- 
berg  to  the  chair  of  professor  of  theology  in  the  university 
(26th  January).  This  person  had  recently  excited  much 
controversy  among  learned  men  by  his  work  upon  the  life 


332  THE  COMMITTEE   OF  FAITH.  [1839. 

of  Jesus,  in  which  he  had  declared  the  occurrences  related 
in  the  Testament  to  be  mere  traditions  of  the  first  church. 
Some  few  sustained  him,  many  more  opposed.  Although 
the  invitation  was  made  according  to  every  legal  form,  a 
decided  protest  was  immediately  raised  against  it  by  the 
clergy.  Archdeacon  Fussli  proposed  in  the  great-council, 
that  the  church-council  also  should  have  a  voice  in  the 
choice  of  theological  professors  of  the  university.  His 
proposition  was  however  rejected  by  a  large  majority. 
Then  the  opposition  called  upon  the  people.  No  means 
of  arousing  the  masses  can  be  more  powerful  than  the 
exciting  of  religious  apprehension.  In  meetings  of  the 
citizens,  in  pamphlets  scattered  profusely  over  the  country, 
from  the  pulpits  even,  cries  of  apprehension  and  of  fear 
immediately  sounded.  "The  government,"  it  was  said, 
"will  destroy  religion.  Our  future  pastors  will  be  edu- 
cated by  an  unbeliever.  Alas  for  our  children!  They 
will  fall  into  a  new  heathenism.  Alas  for  those  in  dis- 
tress !  Alas  for  the  sick  and  the  dying!  All  trust  in  the 
divine  word  will  henceforth  be  taken  away  from  them." 
The  system  of  public  schools  was  the  object  of  like  accu- 
sations, and,  with  Strauss  and  Scherr,  was  stigmatized  as 
the  enemy  of  the  Christian  religion.  Thereby  a  strongly 
despondent  feeling  was  awakened  in  the  people.  .  It  be- 
gan, at  once,  to  ferment  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  where 
cheerful  happiness  had  hitherto  prevailed.  In  vain  did 
the  well-informed  try  to  quiet  it,  as  did  burgomaster  Hir- 
zel  in  his  address  "to  his  fellow-men."  Their  voices 
were  lost  in  the  tumult  of  curses  against  the  government. 
Whoever  said  a  word  in  defence  of  the  latter  was  de- 
nounced as  a  follower  of  Strauss.  The  strength  of  the 
opposition  increased  in  a  few  days  to  an  avalanche ;  the 
movement  quickly  escaped  from  the  control  of  its  pro- 
moters. Early  in  February,  some  bold  men  had  formed 
themselves  into  a  "  Committee  of  Faith,"  which  soon  ob- 
tained consideration  and  great  influence.  Its  seat  was  at 
Wadenschwyl  on  the  lake.  Hurliman-Landis,  a  manufac- 
turer of  Richterschwyl,  Dr.  Rahn-Escher  and  Bleuler- 
Zeller,  both  of  Zurich,  were  its  most  efficient  leaders. 
From  these  issued  the  word  of  command :  "  Strauss  must 


1839.]  ASSEMBLY  AT  EXOTEN.  333 

not  and  shall  not  come."  To  give  it  authority,  a  bold  ad- 
dress to  the  great-council  was  prepared  by  them,  to  which 
nearly  forty  thousand  citizens  affixed  their  names.  Therein 
they  demanded  the  dismissal  of  the  abhorred  professor, 
and,  moreover,  the  controlling  vote  of  the  church  in  the 
choice  of  the  officers  of  education,  as  well  as  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  school-studies.  A  demand  made  by  such 
numbers  and  with  such  vehemence  could  no  longer  be 
withstood.  On  the  23d  of  February,  the  great-council 
reconsidered  their  invitation  to  Dr.  Strauss ;  on  the  18th 
of  March  they  voted  his  dismissal  on  a  retiring  pension. 
The  other  demands  of  the  people  were  referred  to  com- 
missioners for  consideration. 

Although  the  principal  matter  was  now  settled,  the 
storrn  it  had  aroused  was  not  calmed.  Political  views  had 
mingled  with  the  religious  pretext  from  the  beginning, 
and  the  success  hitherto  obtained  by  the  "beautiful  de- 
monstration," as  it  was  called,  prompted  the  conception  of 
broader  plans.  The  leaders  soon  formed  a  close  and 
strongly  bound  union,  first  of  individuals,  then  of  the 
committees  already  established  in  the  districts  and  com- 
munes, of  which  they  made  themselves  the  ruling  direc- 
tors. Thus,  in  fact,  if  not  in  name,  an  opposition-govern- 
ment, inimical  to  the  legal  magistrates  of  the  state,  came 
into  existence.  Fresh  concessions  of  the  great-council 
only  increased  the  arrogance  of  their  demands.  When 
the  council  (27th  June)  passed  a  law  whereby  the  popular 
wish  respecting  religious  tuition  in  the  schools  was  carried 
into  effect,  the  Committee  of  Faith  declared  that  they  could 
no  longer  be  satisfied  with  this.  They  demanded  for  the 
church  a  still  greater  control  over  the  schools,  and  soon 
proclaimed  more  and  more  loudly  that  the  government 
no  longer  possessed  the  confidence  of  the  people.  "  For," 
said  they,  "how  can  men  without  religion  be  the  rulers 
of  a  religious  nation  ?"  The  fire  of  zeal  for  the  church, 
which  had  smouldered  during  the  summer,  was  rekindled 
in  the  autumn.  The  Committees  were  roused  to  new 
activity,  and,  in  order  to  make  an  overpowering  demon- 
stration of  popular  opinion,  a  great  meeting  was  called  at 
Kloten.  But  when  the  leaders,  in  preparation  for  this, 


334-  PASTOR  BERNARD   HIRZEL.  [1839. 

assumed  also  the  direction  in  the  communal  assemblies 
and  announced  their  will  to  the  district-authorities,  this 
encroachment  upon  the  powers  of  the  state  seemed  alto- 
gether too  presumptuous.  The  government  thought  it 
was  time  to  put  bounds  to  the  movement.  They  declared 
it  seditious,  and  directed  the  state-attorney  to  draw  up  an 
indictment  against  the  members  of  the  Committee  (23d 
August).  At  the  same  time,  for  their  own  protection, 
they  called  out  troops,  whom  they  almost  immediately 
dismissed,  when  they  saw,  on  all  sides,  the  manifestations 
of  displeasure  at  this  proceeding.  It  was  already  tw  late. 
The  cry  of  violence  intended  against  the  freedom  and 
faith  of  the  people  gained  the  ascendancy.  When  the 
appointed  day  (2d  September)  came,  ten  thousand  men 
hastened  to  the  meeting  at  Kloten,  in  spite  of  a  violent 
rain-storm.  Here  it  was  decided :  that  the  government's 
declaration  of  the  movement  as  seditious  must  be  with- 
drawn, the  legal  proceedings  against  the  members  of 
the  Committee  quashed,  and  an  indictment  drawn  up 
against  the  state-attorney  himself.  Twenty-two  deputies 
communicated  these  demands  to  burgomaster  Hess.  Now 
it  became  evident  that  the  government  was  weakened  by 
indecision.  Their  answer  was  evasive :  The  great-council 
must  first  be  consulted.  The  Committee  hastened  its  pre- 
parations. The  most  influential  of  its  members,  Dr.  Rahn- 
Escher,  immediately  issued  a  call  for  insurrection.  It  was 
falsely  announced  that  troops  were  on  the  march  from 
other  cantons  to  put  down  the  people.  This  acted  like  a 
spark  in  a  powder-barrel.  All  bonds  of  legal  order  were 
rent  asunder  and  raging  fanaticism  filled  the  land.  The 
storm  first  broke  forth  from  Pfemkon  and  along  the  lake- 
shores.  During  the  night,  horsemen  hurried  through  the 
neighboring  places,  calling  on  the  people  to  rise.  And 
treason  was  soon  rife  in  the  city  itself;  it  penetrated  the 
session-hall  of  the  government.  Perplexity  crippled  all 
energy.  On  the  morning  of  6th  September,  the  landsturm 
appeared  before  the  gates  of  Zurich,  in  numerous,  disor- 
derly masses,  singing  psalms.  Most  of  them  had  scythes 
and  clubs,  many  guns.  Pastor  Bernard  Hirzel  of  Pfeffi- 
kon  was  their  leader.  After  a  hasty  discussion  with  mes- 


1839.]  COUNCILLOR  HEGETSCHWTLER.  335 

sengers  from  the  government,  the  crowd  rushed  into  the 
city  and  over  the  bridge  of  the  Limrnat.  In  the  cathedral- 
square,  they  were  met  by  a  few  armed  men,  who  then 
chanced  to  be  at  the  exercise -school  in  Zurich,  and  who, 
reinforced  by  volunteers,  were  determined  to  protect  the 
seat  of  government  from  violence.  When  these  would 
not  give  way  before  the  on-pressing  multitude,  pastor 
Hirzel  cried :  "  Then  fire,  in  the  name  of  God !"  Shots 
fell.  They  were  returned,  and  many  of  the  country-peo- 
ple retreated  in  confusion.  Then  state-councillor  Heget- 
schwyler  stepped  between  the  exasperated  men,  to  prevent 
further  bloodshed.  A  shot  from  behind  stretched  him 
dead  upon  the  ground.  At  this  "moment  it  was  reported 
that  the  government  had  abdicated,  and  the  troop  of  their 
last  defenders  immediately  dispersed.  Many  were  obliged 
to  save  themselves  by  flight  from  the  vengeance  of  the 
landsturm ;  with  them  most  of  the  deposed  magistrates. 
They  were  not  in  safety  till  they  had  passed  the  borders.  But 
burgomaster  Hess  and  several  who  had  remained  with 
him  now  united  openly  with  the  leaders  of  the  insurrec- 
tion. By  them  a  provisional  government  was  formed, 
which  henceforth  assumed  the  direction  of  affairs.  But 
the  committee  of  faith  joyously  announced  to  its  adher- 
ents far  and  near,  that  GTod  had  given  the  victory  to  the 
just  cause.  To  celebrate  this  victory,  men,  women  and 
children  thronged  in  numberless  crowds  to  Zurich  on  the 
following  days;  in  the  church,  prayers  alternated  with 
carousings ;  in  the  open  streets,  fanatical  preachers  rejoiced 
over  the  new  salvation  of  the  country.  Therewithal, 
bloodthirsty  threats  were  uttered  against  the  followers  of 
Strauss's  doctrine ;  but  the  prison-doors  were  opened  for  the 
incendiaries  of  the  manufactory  at  Uster.  Shortly  after- 
wards, a  new  election  of  all  cantonal  officers  and  magistrates 
took  place,  and  a  spirit  of  bitter  intolerance  ruled. 

The  evil  results  of  this  unprecedented  act  of  violence 
were  not  confined  to  Zurich  alone.  Wherever  the  doctrine 
prevails,  that  a  popular  mob,  breaking  loose  from  all  con- 
stitutional restraints,  may  depose  and  institute  governments, 
there  political  wisdom  no  longer  governs,  but  intrigue. 
And  this  evil  example  soon  had  its  followers.  It  first 


836  INACTIVITY  OF  THE  DIET,  [1840- 

showed  its  effects  upon  the  then  assembled  Diet.  During 
the  earlier  occurrences,  which  took  place  under  their  very 
eyes,  they  remained  fixed  in  stupid  inactivity.  Then, 
when  they  resumed  their  labors,  it  was  evident  that  the 
seeds  of  discord,  sown  broadcast  over  Zurich,  had  germi- 
nated luxuriantly  among  them  also.  In  consequence  of 
the  Vorort's  apostasy  from  the  cause  of  freedom,  many  dep- 
uties cherished  similar  desires,  and  preparations  were 
thenceforth  made  for  a  great  political  revolution  in  the 
country  of  the  Confederates. 


CHAPTER   LXXIV. 

BITTEE    CONSEQUENCES.      CONVENT-REBELLION   IN   AARGATJ. 
[A.  D.  1840  and  1841.] 

THE  revolution  at  Zurich,  though  accomplished  in  the 
holy  name  of  religion,  occasioned  very  unholy  troubles. 
From  it  proceeded  a  constant  succession  of  disturbances, 
quarrels  and  rebellions  throughout  the  cantons.  Soon 
came  the  news  of  the  overthrow  of  an  unpopular  govern- 
ment in  Ticino  ;  then  of  the  success  of  a  reaction  in  Valais  ; 
then  of  plots  in  Aargau,  Solothurn  and  Bale-country. 
Never  had  there  been  days  of  greater  distress  to  the  father- 
land from  discord  than  these. 

In  Bale-country,  deficiencies  in  the  management  of  the  new 
administration  had  excited  frequent  dissatisfaction.  When, 
now,  the  Sixth  of  September  gave  the  evil  watchword  from 
Zurich,  a  union  under  the  name  of  "  Friends  of  the  father- 
land "  was  formed  for  open  resistance  to  the  government.  Its 
members,  some  of  whom  were  men  of  poor  reputation,  while 
I  the  majority  were  enthusiasts  for  liberty,  did  not  disdain  to 
coalesce  with  the  partisans  of  Bale-city.  At  first,  their  de- 
signs were  not  considered  dangerous.  But,  when,  after 
their  demands  had  been  rejected  by  the  state-council  as  im- 
proper, they  preached  resistance  in  the  popular  assemblies, 
and  incited  the  communes  to  rebellion  by  envoys,  it  became 


-1841.]  BALE-COUNTRY  AND  SOLOTHURN.  337 

necessary  to  put  a  speedy  stop  to  the  disorder.  The  gov- 
ernment commanded  the  arrest  of  the  ringleaders  at  Sissach 
and  Gelterkinden,  their  headquarters.  At  the  latter  place, 
a  tumultuous  mob  resisted  the  surrender  of  a  prisoner. 
Troops  were  ordered  there.  The  rebellious  district  was 
occupied  without  stroke  of  sword  (15  April,  1840),  and 
disorder  immediately  disappeared  before  the  determination 
of  the  law. 

Shortly  afterwards,  a  similar  seditious  movement  com- 
menced in  neighboring  Solothurn.  The  constitution  was 
then  under  revision.  It  was  completed  by  the  close  of 
the  year.  It  was  then  to  be  accepted  or  rejected  by  the 
people.  There  was  a  provision  in  the  old  constitution  to 
the  effect  that,  in  case  the  new  one  was  rejected,  the  former 
should  remain  in  force  ten  years  longer.  This  article,  es- 
pecially, was  made  the  pretext  for  incitement.  For  the 
leaders  of  the  catholic  communes  liked  neither  the  old  nor 
the  new  constitution.  They  frightened  the  people  from 
their  quiet  by  the  assertion  that  religion  was  not  sufficiently 
protected  in  either.  The  excitement  increased  as  the  day 
for  voting  drew  near,  especially  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Benedictine  abbey  of  Mariastein.  The  discontented  at- 
tacked the  government  more  and  more  boldly  in  their 
newspapers.  A  committee  of  faith  was  formed  here  also. 
In  the  popular  assemblies,  got  together  by  means  of  dis- 
quieting reports,  the  plan  of  a  constitution,  drawn  up  by 
the  committee  and  favorable  to  the  church,  was  promul- 
gated and  its  adoption  demanded.  But,  as  is  the  custom  in 
Solothurn,  many  liberals  freely  attended  such  meetings,  and 
their  votes  sometimes  occasioned  an  entirely  unexpected 
result.  Then  the  leaders  decided  to  employ  force.  The 
people  of  the  communes  quickly  seized  their  arms,  in  some 
places  for,  in  others  against,  the  government.  The  latter 
did  not  lose  their  firmness  for  a  moment.  Unwilling  to 
be  suddenly  deposed,  as  those  of  Zurich  had  been,  they 
transferred  their  sittings  to  the  barracks,  called  out  troops 
for  their  protection,  and  ordered  the  arrest  of  the  ringlead- 
ers. Thus  a  surprise  was  prevented.  But  the  govern- 
ment was  still  more  surely  protected  by  the  affection  of  the 
best  of  the  people  than  by  barracks  and  bayonets.  They 
15  2e 


338  THE  BUNZNER  COMMITTEE.  [1840- 

were  supported  faithfully.  On  the  day  of  voting  (10  Jan., 
1841),  the  new  constitution  was  accepted  by  a  large  and 
triumphant  majority,  and,  shortly  afterwards,  the  names 
of  the  old,  proved  magistrates  were  again  deposited  in  the 
ballot-boxes. 

More  serious  and  more  threatening  to  the  whole  father- 
land did  disorder  show  itself  in  Aargau  about  the  same 
time.  The  brands  had  not  been  extinguished  in  1836,  in 
the  convent-districts  on  the  Reuss  and  the  Limmat.  Dis- 
satisfaction still  smouldered  under  the  ashes,  and  was  as- 
siduously fanned  by  the  ministers  of  the  Roman  see,  who 
wished  to  preserve  a  centre  of  disturbance  for  the  fitting 
time.  The  example  of  Zurich  taught  them  how  their 
objects  might  be  attained.  Following  that,  a  strongly 
cemented  union  was  established  here  also ;  communal  com- 
mittees, closely  united  among  themselves,  were  appointed ; 
the  "  Bunzner  committee"  had  the  supervision  of  the  whole. 
Soon  the  time  came  when  a  revision  of  the  constitution  was 
discussed  in  Aargau  also  (1840).  All  moderate  men  of 
both  church- parties  wished  to  retain  the  Paritat  under 
which  the  canton  had  lived  happily  for  many  years.  The 
attack  of  the  leaguers  was  first  directed  against  the  main- 
tenance of  this  article.  In  a  meeting  at  Mellingen  (2  Feb.), 
they  decided  upon  an  address  to  the  great  council,  in  which 
the  separate  management  of  catholic  affairs  by  special  mag- 
istrates of  that  faith  was  asked  for,  in  unseemly  and  inso- 
lent terms.  At  the  same  time,  they  demanded  the  resto- 
ration to  the  convents  of  all  their  former  rights,  viz. :  the 
private  management  of  their  property,  and  freedom  to  re- 
ceive novices.  The  great  council  reluctantly  rejected  these 
demands,  unprecedented  in  form  and  tenor :  a  compliance 
with  them  appeared  most  pernicious  to  the  canton.  To 
pacify  the  catholic  districts,  however,  they  inserted  in  their 
draft  of  a  new  constitution  a  guaranty  of  church-freedom. 
"When  this  was  submitted  to  the  people  (5  Oct.),  the  com- 
promise was  rejected  by  all  parties :  to  some  it  seemed  to 
yield  too  much  ;  to  others,  too  little.  A  second  discussion 
of  the  constitution  followed.  The  Paritat  was  now  given 
up  by  the  liberals,  and  it  was  voted :  That  the  representa- 
tives to  the  great-council  should  henceforward  be  chosen 


-1841.]  COMMISSIONER  WALLER.  339 

according  to  the  number  of  electors,  and  no  longer  accord- 
ing to  their  faith.  This  exasperated  the  church-leaders: 
"  Alas  for  us,"  said  they  ;  "  instead  of  granting  our  just  re- 
quests, they  deprive  us  of  the  little  we  have.  The  reformed, 
who  are  the  most  numerous,  will  enslave  us  now."  They 
proclaimed  this  in  the  free-bailiwicks,  in  the  district  of 
Baden,  and  as  far  as  the  Rhine.  Under  stormy  auspices, 
an  excited  meeting  was  held  at  Baden  (29  Nov).  Here, 
with  the  members  of  the  Bunzner  committee,  several  for- 
eign priestly  and  laical  champions  of  the  catholic  church 
appeared  on  the  platform,  and  also  an  official  of  the  papal 
nuncio.  They  demanded  a  second  rejection  of  the  draft  of 
the  constitution,  and  threatening  voices  were  even  raised, 
calling  for  an  entire  separation  of  the  catholic  portion  of 
the  country  from  Aargau.  A  breach  seemed  unavoidable. 
But  the  rashness  of  those  speakers  occasioned  greater  unity 
among  all  prudent  persons:  the  country  must  be  saved 
from  a  great  calamity.  In  order  to  preserve  public  order 
from  the  imminent  danger,  the  majority  of  the  citizens  of 
all  districts  and  faiths  now  voted  decidedly  to  accept  the 
second  draft  (5  Jan.,  1841).  But  the  hopes  entertained  of 
an  immediate  restoration  of  quiet  proved  vain,  neverthe- 
less. Soon  the  threats  uttered  at  Baden  began  to  ripen  into 
deeds.  The  leaders  recruited ;  they  armed ;  everything 
was  prepared  for  an  onslaught.  The  emissaries  of  the  con- 
vents and  of  the  Bunzner  committee  were  untiring  in  their 
efforts  to  rouse  the  citizens  of  the  com'munes  in  defence  of 
their  threatened  religion.  Finally,  the  government  ordered 
the  arrest  of  the  members  of  the  committee  (9  Jan).  This 
was  done;  but  now  the  flame  of  rebellion  burst  forth 
openly.  A  raging  mob  attacked  the  bailiff's  house  at 
Muri,  in  order  to  release  the  prisoners.  In  vain  was  a 
courageous  resistance  made  by  Waller,  the  government- 
commissioner.  He  was  maltreated  and  imprisoned,  with 
other  faithful  ministers  of  the  law.  The  same  thing  oc- 
curred at  Bremgarten,  where  serious  injuries  were  inflicted 
on  the  officials  and  liberal  citizens.  At  the  head  of  the 
excited  insurgents  in  both  places,  were  the  friends  and  ser- 
vants of  the  convents.  But  in  the  district  of  Zurzach, 
father  Theodosius,  guardian  of  the  capuchins  at  Baden, 


340  SUPPRESSION  OF  THE  CONVENTS.  [1840- 

himself  personally  commanded  the  assembling  of  the 
country-people  and  urged  them  on.  The  laws  were  disre- 
garded in  the  territory  of  the  abbey  of  Wettingen  also. 
The  broad  ramifications  of  the  insurrection,  even  into 
neighboring  cantons,  became  every  day  more  and  more 
apparent;  a  general  conflagration  threatened  the  whole 
country.  The  delay  of  another  day  would  probably  have 
rendered  all  remedy  useless.  But  the  government,  con- 
scious of  their  high  duties,  had  already  adopted  preserva- 
tive measures.  Their  armed  force,  hastily  cabled  out,  under 
command  of  colonel  Frey-Herose,  marched  in  the  night, 
through  snow  and  wind,  to  the  boundary  of  the  free-baili- 
wicks; on  the  following  morning  (11  Jan.),  to  Villmergen, 
whose  fields  had  already,  in  earlier  ages,  been  twice  red- 
dened by  citizens'  blood,  shed  in  religious  wars.  Here, 
the  crowds  of  insurgents,  called  from  a  broad  circle  by  the 
alarm-bells,  had  assembled  for  resistance.  After  a  short 
fight,  they  dispersed  before  the  thunder  of  the  cannon. 
And  now,  without  meeting  further  opposition,  the  victors 
marched  to  Muri.  The  convent  and  neighboring  territory 
were  occupied.  On  the  next  day,  the  auxiliary  troops, 
which  had  been  summoned  from  Bale-country  and  Berne, 
entered  the  other  insurgent  districts.  Many  of  the  mis- 
leaders  and  of  the  misled  escaped  in  safety  over  the  bor- 
ders. 

Great  indignation  was  felt  by  all  the  people  when  this 
second  breach  of  the  public  peace  became  known.  The 
supporters  of  the  policy  of  Rome,  and  the  convents  espe- 
cially, whose  authority  and  money  had  been  used  to  build 
up  a  power  inimical  to  freedom,  were  again  regarded  as 
the  principal  offenders.  When  the  great-council  consid- 
ered the  extent  of  the  danger  they  had  averted,  they  felt 
how  necessary  it  was  to  close  its  source  for  the  future. 
Augustine  Keller  gave  an  eloquent  expression  to  this  feel- 
ing. He  proposed  that  the  convents,  as  incompatible 
with  the  welfare  of  the  canton,  should  be  forever  sup- 
pressed. Mov.ed  by  the  power  of  his  words  and  by  the 
urgency  of  the  momentous  occasion,  the  assembly  rose  in 
favor  of  his  motion.  Only  a  few  did  not  Vote  for  it  (13th 
January).  And  thus  ended  the  many-centuried  existence 


-1841.]  DISPUTE  IN  THE  DIET.  341 

of  those  institutions  of  the  middle  ages,  which  once,  in 
their  prime,  dispensed  manifold  blessings,  but  which  had 
now  become  injurious  to  the  country.  They  were:  the 
rich  abbeys  of  Muri  and  Wettingen,  the  capuchin- monas- 
teries in  Baden  and  Bremgarten,  the  nunneries  of  Herrnet- 
schwyl,  Fahr,  Gnadenthal  and  Mariakronung.  The  monks 
and  nuns,  dismissed  from  their  convent- walls,  received  lib- 
eral pensions.  The  remaining  property  of  the  convents, 
added  to  the  resources  of  the  state,  was  to  be  used  for  the 
benefit  of  the  catholic  churches,  schools  and  alms-houses. 

As  soon  as  this  bold  determination  was  adopted/ voices 
of  cheering  approval  were  heard  throughout  Switzerland, 
and  through  almost  all  Europe.  Still  louder  rose  the  cry 
of  indignation  from  the  ranks  of  the  opponents.  When 
the  suppression  of  the  convents  was  announced,  the  supe- 
riors protested.  Their  example  was  followed  by  the  primi- 
tive cantons,  especially  by  Schwyz,  whence  the  nuncio  ful- 
minated the  shafts  of  his  anger  against  Aargau.  The  agi- 
tation occasioned  by  the  fall  of  these  ancient  religious  es- 
tablishments spread  into  distant  lands.  From  the  imperial 
house  of  Austria,  even,  came  a  threatening  protest,  based 
on  the  former  rights  of  the  family  of  Habsburg  over  Muri. 
An  extraordinary  Diet  was  demanded  by  a  majority  of 
.the  catholic  cantons.  When  they  met,  the  deputies  ex- 
hibited great  bitterness  against  each  other,  as  formerly, 
on  the  day  of  Stanz.  The  Urcantons  required  that  the 
convents  should  be  reestablished  without  delay.  "For," 
said  they,  "the  bond  of  confederation  is  broken  by  this 
arbitrary  proceeding.  In  the  twelfth  article  of  the  compact 
the  existence  of  the  convents  and  religious  establishments  is 
expressly  guaranteed.  If  Aargau  will  not  yield  volunta- 
rily, she  must  be  compelled."  To  this,  the  severely  blamed 
canton  replied  by  her  deputy,  Dr.  Wieland:  "  That  twelfth 
article  is  not  unconditional.  The  welfare  of  the  state  is  of 
more  importance  than  the  existence  of  the  convents.  We 
do  only  what  imperious  necessity  requires.  Our  convents 
have  repeatedly  promoted  insurrections  against  the  laws 
and  constitution.  Their  reestablish  men  t  would  be  a  death- 
blow to  our  commonwealth.  The  question  is  no  longer : 
'Aargau  and  the  convents,'  but  'Aargau  or  the  convents.' 

2E* 


842        ,  BAUMGARTNER  OF  ST.   G  ALLEN.  [1840- 

If  the  one  must  stand,  the  other  must  fall."  This  serious 
dispute  was  settled  by  the  influence  of  politic  Baumgart- 
ner  of  St.  Gallon.  Formerly  an  enthusiastic  champion  of 
freedom,  on  that  day  he  openly  deserted  the  cause  he  had 
previously  maintained  and  went  over  to  its  opponents. 
His  motion  prevailed.  Twelve  cantons  declared  (2d 
April):  "The  act  of  suppression  is  inconsistent  wi-th  the 
bond  of  confederation."  But  Aargau  was  unwilling  to 
yield  her  just  right.  From  respect  to  the  decision  of  the 
Diet,  she  did  indeed  suspend  the  present  fulfilment  of  her 
decree  respecting  the  convent-property,  but  she  appealed 
to  the  sense  of  equity  in  her  fellow  Confederates,  while  in 
a  memorial  she  laid  bare  the  culpability  of  the  suppressed 
religious  establishments  in  all  their  proceedings.  Her  ad- 
dress produced  a  slow  but  increasing  effect.  The  regular 
Diet  of  the  year  did  indeed  reaffirm  the  previous  declara- 
tion, but  not  with  the  same  decision.  Now,  the  vorort 
Berne  sided  with  the  hard-pressed  neighbor  canton,  and 
her  avoyer,  Carl  Neuhaus,  full  of  the  spirit  of  freedom,  op- 
posed himself  like  a  wall  to  the  arrogance  of  the  friends  of 
the  convents.  It  was  soon  apparent  that  some  concession 
on  the  part  of  Aargau  was  more  desirable  than  inflexible 
obstinacy.  Thereupon  the  great-council  decided,  that,  for 
the  sake  of  national  peace,  the  three  nunneries  of  Fahr, 
Gnadenthal  and  Mariakronung,  as  least  implicated  in  the  in- 
surrection, should  be  reestablished  in  their  privileges  (19th 
July).  Herewith  Vaud  and  Scaif  hausen  declared  them- 
selves satisfied,  and  when  the  Diet  met  for  the  third  time 
this  year  on  the  convent-question,  the  declaration  of  April 
had  no  longer  a  majority  of  votes.  Now,  the  restoration 
of  all  the  convents  was  demanded  only  by  Lucerne,  the 
three  primitive  cantons,  Zug,  Freiburg,  St.  Gallen,  Gri- 
sons,  Valais,  Neuchatel,  Inner  Appenzell  and  Bale-city;  ten 
votes  and  two  halves;  while  Solothurn,  Aargau,  Ticino, 
Yaud,  Thurgau,  Schaff  hausen,  Outer  Appenzell,  Bale-coun- 
try, Glarus  and  Berne,  eight  votes  and  two  halves,  de- 
clared themselves  satisfied  with  the  concessions  of  Aargau ; 
Zurich  and  Geneva  wished  Hermetschwyl  to  be  added,  on 
certain  conditions,  to  the  other  three.  Thus  the  matter 
still  remained  undecided.  The  dispute  continued :  every 


-1841.]  JOSEPH  LEU  OF  EBERSOLL.  343 

year  the  dispossessed  abbots  renewed  their  demands  for 
the  reestablishment  of  their  convents;  every  year  thou- 
sands of  petitioners  addressed  the  deputies  in  their  behalf. 
A  constantly-widening  gulf  was  opened  between  the  par- 
ties, and  the  fatherland  would  ultimately  have  been  rent 
by  it,  had  not  the  hand  of  God  mercifully  directed  other- 
wise. 


CHAPTER  LXXV. 

REVOLUTION    IN   LUCERNE,    IN   TICINO    AND   GENEVA. 
[A.  D.  1840  to  1841.] 

THE  insurrections  of  the  followers  of  Rome  had  failed 
before  the  firmness  of  Solothurn  and  Aargau.  They  still, 
however,  expected  to  succeed  in  their  designs  upon  Lu- 
cerne. Here,  a  large  portion  of  the  people  were  blindly 
submissive  to  the  priestly  rule,  and  the  seed  of  distrust  of 
the  government  had  long  since  taken  root.  Since  the 
government  had  urged  the  acceptance  of  the  Baden-articles, 
many  had  fallen  away  from  them,  in  anxiety  about  the 
holy  church.  The  success  of  the  onslaught  at  Zurich  had 
awakened  emulation  to  follow  the  example  thus  set,  and 
the  suppression  of  the  convents  in  Aargau  had  broken  all 
bonds  of  existing  order.  With  cries  of  alarm,  the  banner 
of  "  danger  to  religion"  was  raised  in  all  the  villages,  and 
a  daily  increasing  number  of  those  who  were  anxious  for 
their  faith  flocked  around  it.  Joseph  Leu  of  Ebersoll,  an 
energetic  but  fanatical  peasant,  made  himself  the  leader  of 
the  movement.  Already,  in  the  winter  of  1839,  he  had 
proposed  in  the  great-council :  That  Lucerne  should  with- 
draw from  the  league  of  the  seven  liberal  cantons,  should 
invalidate  the  Baden-articles,  and  invite  the  Jesuits  to 
direct  public  education.  At  that  time,  indeed,  this  proposi- 
tion was  angrily  rejected ;  but  Leu,  with  untiring  perseve- 
rance, pursued  his  object,  which  became  the  aim  of  his 
life.  And  when  he  was  applauded  more  and  more  by  the 
masses,  others,  distinguished  for  their  determination  and 


844  CONSTANTIKE  SIEGWART.  [1840- 

mental  gifts,  soon  joined  him  :  among  them,  Constantino 
Siegwart,  formerly  secretary  of  state,  once  a  zealous 
champion  for  the  rights  of  the  state  in  church-matters, 
now  their  equally  zealous  opponent,  Bernard  Meyer, 
Christopher  Fuchs  and  others.  When  men  of  such  force 
lay  the  axe  to  the  root  of  the  young  tree  of  freedom,  it 
must  soon  totter.  A  committee  of  faith,  as  at  Zurich,  took 
the  reins  with  strong  hands.  Popular  unions,  with  incred- 
ible activity,  roused  the  country.  The  whole  territory 
of  Lucerne  was  brought  into  a  state  of  feverish  fermenta- 
tion. An  immediate  change  in  the  constitution  was  de- 
manded ;  and  the  government,  all  at  once  become  powerless, 
could  no  longer  avert  the  imminent  storm.  A  constituent- 
council  was  decreed.  From  pulpits  and  confessionals,  as 
well  as  in  numerous  pamphlets,  the  people  were  exhorted 
to  choose  only  church-pious  men,  that  the  canton  might 
be  saved  from  the  horrors  of  radicalism.  The  exhortation 
had  its  effect.  Under  the  appearance  of  extended  popular 
sovereignty,  the  direction  of  the  council  was  secured  to  a 
few  individuals,  and  a  "wide  door  opened  for  the  triumph 
of  the  power  of  the  Roman-catholic  church.  The  remon- 
strances of  moderate  men  were  of  no  avail :  popular  indig- 
nation was  more  violent  against  them  than  against  the  so- 
called  heretical  reformers  themselves.  On  the  1st  of  May, 
1841,  the  new  constitution  was  accepted  by  a  large  majority 
of  the  people ;  hardly  a  third  of  the  citizens  desired  to 
vote  against  it.  Now,  the  government  quitted  their  seats. 
Their  farewell-address,  full  of  noble  regrets  over  the  des- 
truction of  the  long-established  and  beneficent  constitution, 
glanced  also,  with  sad  forebodings,  at  the  future.  Into  the 
places  of  the  ejected  entered  a  new  great-council,  the 
larger  proportion  of  whom  were  noted  for  incapacity,  and 
a  new  government,  with  minds  completely  subservient  to 
church-domination.  Their  first  work  was  to  lay  the  con- 
stitution at  the  feet  of  the  pope  for  his  approval.  Never- 
theless, he  did  not  approve  it  unconditionally,  but,  in  his 
reply,  expressed  the  hope :  That  he  might  yet,  hereafter, 
see  fruitful  proofs  of  the  pious  inclinations  of  the  people 
of  Lucerne  towards  the  mother-church  and  the  supreme  see 
of  St.  Peter. 


-1841.]  COLONEL  LUVINI.  345 

After  this  disorderly  revolution  in  the  catholic  Vorort, 
the  reaction  was  pressed,  with  still  more  vigor  than  before, 
throughout  the  whole  Swiss  Alpine  land.  But  not  with 
equal  success  in  all  parts,  and  with  least  among  the  hot- 
blooded  people  of  Ticino,  beyond  the  St.  Grotthard. 

This  canton  had  been  the  first  with  Lucerne,  even  before 
the  Parisian  days  of  July,  to  commence  a  reform  in  her  in- 
ternal affairs.  But  the  changes  then  made  were  only  half- 
way measures.  Instead  of  the  fine  crop  hoped  for,  a  fresh, 
luxuriant  growth  of  the  weeds  of  old  abuses  soon  sprung 
up.  Many  magistrates  shamelessly  plundered  the  com- 
monwealth for  their  individual  advantage,  and  the  numer- 
ous clergy  obtained  an  almost  unlimited  influence  in.  the 
legislative  council.  After  the  triumph  of  the  committee 
of  faith  at  Zurich,  the  daring  of  the  men  in  power  in  Ticino 
increased  greatly.  They  now  sought  to  extirpate  the  last 
remains  of  popular  freedom,  to  trammel  the  press,  to  restain 
the  right  of  association.  This  attempt,  however,  resulted 
in  their  own  bitter  defeat.  For  when  the  dissolution  of 
the  cantonal  shooting-unions  was  ordered  by  a  decree  of 
government,  because  their  bold  spirit  displeased  the  rulers, 
the  members  rose  in  active  opposition.  The  alarm-drum 
beat  to  arms.  Colonel  Luvini,  with  a  band  of  faithful 
men,  surprised  the  arsenal  at  Lugano,  and  marched  thence, 
in  arms,  to  Locarno,  where  he  was  received  joyfully  (4th 
to  7th  Dec.,  1839).  Liberty-trees  in  cities  and  villages 
proclaimed  the  triumph  of  the  popular  cause.  When  the 
state-council  saw  that  all  was  lost,  terrified,  they  fled  over 
the  frontiers  into  Lombardy;  with  them,  many  of  their 
devoted  clergy.  Then  ensued  a  complete  overturn  of  the 
former  state-management,  with  new  laws  and  new  magis- 
trates. Ticino  thenceforward  ranged  herself  under  the 
banner  of  progress,  and  a  ray  of  hope  lightened  those  days 
of  sore  distress  to  the  fatherland.  It  was  but  for  a  moment, 
however.  In  the  intoxication  of  their  triumph,  the  new 
leaders  forgot  that  moderation  towards  the  conquered 
is  always  more  honorable  than  victory  itself.  The 
banishment  of  their  opponents  from  their  native  soil  was 
not  enough :  they  must  also  be  ruined  by  confiscation  of 
their  property,  and  declared  infamous  by  judicial  sentence. 
15* 


346  JOSEPH  NESSI.  [1840- 

The  exiles  swore  a  bitter  revenge  for  this.  By  constant 
intercourse  with  those  of  their  adherents  who  had  re- 
mained, they  succeeded  in  fomenting  disturbance.  Many 
priests  turned  their  pulpits  into  political  tribunes  and  de- 
claimed against  the  government.  Soon  a  fanatical  hatred 
burned  between  communes  and  communes,  between  citizens 
and  citizens  of  the  same  district;  the  dagger,  even,  was 
not  seldom  bared  for  assassination.  As  the  vorort  Lucerne 
was  now  thrown  open  to  those  who  fought  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  Swiss  freedom,  her  example  incited  to  a  similar  at- 
tempt here.  In  the  mountain-valleys  of  Maggia  and  Ber- 
zasca,  where  the  adherents  of  the  conspirators  were  nume- 
rous, the  signal  was  given  for  a  counter-revolution  (1st 
July,  1841).  At  the  same  time,  the  exiles,  with  troops 
they  had  enlisted,  entered  the  country  from  Lombardy 
and  marched  towards  Locarno,  the  seat  of  the  government. 
The  latter,  forewarned  from  Milan,  prepared  for  defence. 
Troops  hurried  to  Locarno,  and  the  shooting-unions  again 
proffered  enthusiastic  support.  An  encounter  took  place 
near  the  Brolla-bridge,  half  a  league  from  the  capital-city. 
The  insurgents  were  defeated  here,  and  in  a  still  more  des- 
tructive battle,  the  next  day,  near  Tenero.  Reduced  to 
despair,  throwing  away  their  arms,  they  fled  with  their 
hirelings.  One  of  the  leaders,  lawyer  Joseph  Nessi,  was 
given  up  by  his  own  men  ;  the  Lombard  authorities  sent 
others,  as  prisoners,  to  Ticino.  Deputies  came  from  the 
communes  of  Maggiathal,  imploring  mercy.  Peace  was 
restored  in  a  short  time,  and  a  thanksgiving-festival 
solemnized  the  renewed  triumph  of  freedom.  But  this, 
also,  did  not  remain  unsullied.  A  drum-head  court-mar- 
tial condemed  Nessi  to  death.  Even  Luvmi,  at  whose  feet 
the  wife  of  the  unfortunate  man  cast  herself  with  her  chil- 
dren, could  not  save  him.  He  was  shot.  Great  as  had 
been  the  exultation  of  many  in  Switzerland  at  the  failure 
of  the  insurrection,  their  horror  at  this  bloody  deed  was 
equally  great.  Sentences  of  death,  in  civil  struggles,  fix 
an  indelible  blot  on  the  cause  in  which  they  are  issued, 
and  always  elevate  the  sufferers  to  the  dignity  of  martyrs. 
The  government  was  more  merciful  a  few  months  later, 
when  it  permitted  several  of  the  exiles  to  return  to  their 


-1841.]  THE   MARCH-UNION.  347 

homes.  Thenceforward,  trusting  to  the  love  of  the  people, 
it  secured  a  firm  opposition  against  all  further  intrigues  of 
its  enemies. 

In  the  same  year,  the  republic  of  Geneva  began  also  to 
be  a  theatre  of  civil  disturbance.  The  constitution  of  1814: 
had  deficiencies  arising  from  the  period  of  its  adoption. 
Long  since,  but  in  vain,  had  enlightened  members  of  the 
government  itself  sought  to  introduce  propositions,  for  more 
open  elections,  a  shorter  term  of  office  for  members  of  the 
council  and  the  right  of  free  petition.  They  were  thwarted 
by  the  opposition  of  those  of  different  views.  In  spite  of 
these  latter,  Geneva,  though  restricted  at  home,  had  always 
sided  with  the  party  of  progress  in  Confederate  matters  and 
there  led  in  the  cause  of  freedom.  But  now  an  association 
of  citizens  under  the  name  of  the  "  Third  of  March," 
boldly  entered  the  lists  for  a  new  regulation  of  their  own 
cantonal  affairs.  The  people,  instructed  by  writings  and 
speeches,  soon  pronounced  in  favor  of  their  object.  This 
caused  the  state-council,  though  yielding  unwillingly  to 
the  general  demand,  to  lay  propositions  for  a  reform  be- 
fore the  chamber  of  representatives  (22d  Nov).  That 
which,  if  offered  of  their  own  accord  a  few  months  earlier, 
would  have  been  accepted  with  gladness,  was  now  received 
with  cold  mistrust  and  already  was  no  longer  satisfactory. 
A  constituent-council,  chosen  from  among  the  citizens, 
would  alone  accomplish  the  desired  object.  This  demand 
became  the  watchword  of  the  day.  To  give  it  force,  the 
March-union  assembled  with  crowds  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
council-house.  The  state-council,  on  its  side,  summoned 
troops  to  protect  the  magistrates,  and  ordered  the  doors  of 
the  building  to  be  barricaded.  A  serious  conflict  seemed 
imminent.  But  of  the  militia  summoned,  none  appeared 
from  the  city  and  from  the  country-communes  only  a  very 
few.  These  few,  also,  immediately  dispersed.  When  the 
council  saw  themselves  thus  deserted  by  their  fellow-citi- 
zens, they  yielded  entirely  to  the  loudly-declared  popular 
will.  Their  decision  was  announced  amid  the  congratu- 
lations of  the  assembled  crowd.  The  elections  of  the  con- 
stituent-council soon  followed ;  on  23d  Dec.,  it  began  its 
work.  The  hitherto  chained  waves  broke  forth  ragingly. 


348  THE  STRUGGLE  [1842- 

Though  numerous  concessions  were  made  in  favor  of 
popular  sovereignty,  there  were  some  who  demanded  more 
and  greater.  Again  there  were  threatening  assemblages ; 
again  the  troops  were  summoned  (Jan.,  1842).  The  work  at 
last  came  to  a  conclusion  in  the  midst  of  an  unfavorable 
party-hatred,  and  unexpectedly  received  the  approval  of 
the  majority  of  the  citizens.  The  March-union,  which  had 
given  the  first  powerful  impulse,  had  fallen  in  their  es- 
timation. This  was  very  evident,  when  few  of  its  members 
received  votes  at  the  new  election  of  magistrates,  and  many 
friendly  to  the  old  state  of  things  were  chosen.  The  old 
spirit  was  again  breathed  into  the  new  form  ;  therefore  the 
buds  of  future  discord  sprouted  into  life  with  the  very  in- 
troduction of  the  altered  constitution. 


CHAPTER    LXXVJ. 

TERMINATION     OF    THE    CONVENT-QUESTION.         FORMATION     OF     THE 
SONDERBUND. 

[A.  D.  1842  to  1848.] 

THIS  was  a  period  of  constantly  increasing  party-bitter- 
ness. The  scales  rose  and  fell,  according  as  one  side  or  the 
other  obtained  a  momentary  preponderance.  No  longer 
did  the  leaders  and  orators  of  the  people  alone  take  part  in 
the  great  war  of  opinion,  but  all  classes  showed  more  and 
more  plainly  their  sense  of  its  momentous  importance. 
The  whole  fatherland  was  soon  divided  into  two  great 
camps.  On  one  side  floated  the  holy  banner  of  religion, 
calling  for  a  restoration  of  the  institutions  of  the  good  old 
times;  on  the  other,  men  stood  in  defence  of  acquired 
popular  rights  and  desired  a  new  and  stronger  bond  of 
confederation.  On  this  side  were  the  inhabitants  of  those 
cantons  which  were  rich  in  enlightenment  and  industry  ; 
on  the  other,  the  uneducated  shepherds  of  the  mountains, 
especially  of  the  primitive  cantons,  with  church-led  people 
of  other  districts.  The  papal  court  directed  the  movement 


-1848.]  REALLY  POLITICAL.  349 

on  the  part  of  the  latter,  furnished  them  with  leaders  and 
war-cries.  The  struggle  had  the  appearance  of  relating 
solely  to  the  catholic  faith,  while  it  was  really  political. 
Many  of  the  reformed  held  with  the  church-party,  many 
of  the  catholics  with  the  party  of  freedom,  according  to 
their  political  bias. 

The  question  of  the  Aargau-convents  was  always  the 
apple  of  discord,  which  excited  the  combatants.  The  less 
a  settlement  was  attempted  inside  of  the  council-hall,  the 
more  earnestly  was  the  matter  discussed  outside.  So  long, 
however,  as  Zurich  remained  under  the  dark  laws  of  the 
September  storm  of  1839,  the  balance  inclined  in  favor  of 
the  reestablishment  of  the  suppressed  convents.  But  great 
changes  took  place  in  this  canton  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years.  Many,  who  had  -formerly  been  zealous  for  the 
overthrow  of  the  old  government  and  constitution,  now 
blushed  to  see  their  native  canton  hand  in  hand  with  the 
hereditary  foes  of  popular  enlightenment.  Thus  it  hap- 
pened that,  in  1841,  their  ears  were  again  opened  to  listen 
to  an  address  from  the  unions  of  Aargau  respecting  the 
matter  of  the  convents.  This  solemnly  declared  that  the 
people  of  Aargau  did  not  desire  the  oppression  of  their 
catholic  brothers,  but  only  freedom  and  equal  rights  for 
all ;  that  the  suppression  of  the  convents,  as  magazines  of 
incessant  disturbance,  was  not  a  deed  of  gratuitous  vio- 
lence but  of  imperious  necessity,  and  that  Aargau  ex- 
pected friendly  and  neighborly  assistance  from  Zurich  in 
the  troubles  of  the  times.  This  address  produced  a  deep 
effect.  When,  shortly  afterwards,  some  members  of  the 
deposed  government  called  a  meeting  of  the  people  at  the 
village  of  Schwammedingen  (29th  Aug.),  more  than  twenty 
thousand  citizens  were  present,  and  unanimously  declared 
their  approval  of  the  proceedings  of  Aargau.  This  great 
manifestation  of  repentance  at  once  changed  the  course  of 
things.  Public  spirit  was  rejuvenated  and  demanded  a 
recurrence  to  the  liberal  measures  of  the  government  of 
1830.  But  it  disdained  to  repay  like  by  like,  violence  by 
violence :  the  popular  wish  for  improvement  must  be  de- 
monstrated by  the  legal  votes  of  the  communes.  In  vain 
did  the  collapsing  band  of  the  men  of  September  oppose 

2F 


350  THE  NUNCIO  AT  LUCERNE.  [1842- 

this  wish.  In  vain  did  their  most  clever  champion,  state- 
councillor  Blanschli,  endeavor  to  raise  the  credit  of  his 
government  by  ferretting  out  the  communistic  tendencies 
of  certain  German  journeymen,  and  cause  conservative 
axioms  to  be  embodied  in  a  defensive  plea  by  two  Ger- 
mans, the  brothers  Rohmer.  The  fresh  stream  of  the 
movement  swept  uninterruptedly  onwards.  When,  in 
May,  1842,  the  great-council  was  chosen  anew  by  the  peo- 
ple, the  names  of  the  once  so-beloved,  but  afterwards  se- 
verely calumniated,  people's-friends  were  again  deposited 
in  the  ballot-boxes,  by  large  majorities.  Zurich  again  re- 
trieved her  ancient  dignity.  But  now,  made  wise  by  bit- 
ter experience,  she  pursued  her  course  with  more  enlight- 
ened moderation,  free  from  all  excess. 

While  reaction  lost  one  star  here,  another  quite  as  prom- 
ising beamed  from  over  the  lake  of  the  four  cantons.  Lu- 
cerne, becoming  Vorort  with  the  new  year  1843,  turned 
her  whole  influence  to  secure  the  preponderance  of  the 
catholic  cause  in  the  Confederacy.  It  was  an  omen  full  of 
significance  that,  on  22d  January,  the  papal  nuncio,  after 
seven  years'  absence,  returned  from  Schwyz  to  his  ancient 
residence.  He  was  welcomed  with  solemn  pomp.  As 
soon  as  he  was  there,  the  execution  of  great  designs  com- 
menced. From  the  state-council  of  the  Vorort,  at  once 
issued  an  imperious  mandate  to  Aargau  to  annul  all  sales 
of  convent-property :  in  case  of  refusal,  she  was  threatened 
with  the  interference  of  the  Confederacy.  As  this  canton 
did  refuse,  the  Vorort  forwarded  an  angry  circular  letter 
to  the  several  Confederates,  requiring  the  Diet  to  decide 
the  question  respecting  the  existence  or  non-existence  of 
the  convents.  The  councils  and  communes  assembled  to 
give  instructions.  There  were  still  doubts  of  the  result. 
Finally,  every  thing  depended  on  the  decision  of  St.  Gal- 
len.  But  here  an  agreement  of  opinion  was  more  difficult 
I  than  elsewhere,  as  the  parties  were  exactly  balanced  in  the 
great-council.  At  last  an  instruction  emanated  from  that 
body,  by  which,  in  consequence  of  their  inability  to  agree, 
the  vote  for  or  against  was  left  entirely  in  the  hand  of  the 
deputy.  In  anxious  suspense,  the  nation  saw  the  Diet  as- 
semble. At  first  a  decision  seemed  hardly  possible.  Then 


-1843.]  THE  SIX   CATHOLIC  CANTONS.  351 

the  deputy  of  Aargau  hastened  home,  to  solicit  fresh  di- 
rections, with  which  to  close  the  last  gap  in  the  ranks  of 
the  liberal  cantons.  In  a  memorable  sitting  (28th  and  29th 
Aug.),  the  great  council  of  Aargau  now  determined  to 
make  another  peace-offering  to  the  fatherland,  and  to  add 
Hermetschwyl  to  the  other  three  restored  nunneries.  This 
noble  offer  accomplished  the  purpose.  Now  the  deputy 
of  St.  Gallen,  Fels,  heartily  gave  his  deciding  vote  in  favor 
of  Aargau.  The  required  number  of  twelve  votes  was 
complete.  The  convent-question  was  dismissed  as  decided, 
and  a  dangerous  dispute  seemed  finally  settled. 

But  this  hope  was  disappointed.  Lucerne  and  the  Ur- 
cantons,  with  Zug  and  Freiburg,  refused  to  recognize  the 
validity  of  this  decision,  which  they  termed  a  breach  of 
the  compact  on  the  part  of  the  twelve  cantons.  They  even 
showed  themselves  determined  to  give  a  formidable  stress 
to  their  protest.  They  prepared  an  opposition  which  could 
only  end  in  a  final  struggle  for  life  or  death.  Great  activ- 
ity was  noticeable  everywhere  among  the  church-party. 
Numerous  journeyings,  secret  appointments  and  meetings 
took  place.  No  uninitiated  person  could  unravel  their 
whole  meaning.  It  remained  a  secret  for  an  entire  year, 
that,  in  a  conference  of  the  deputies  held  at  the  baths  of 
Rothen,  near  Lucerne  (13th  to  15th  Sept.),  the  basis  of  that 
Sonderbund  (separate  league)  of  Ur-schweiz  was  laid,  which 
afterwards  proved  so  eventful  in  the  history  of  the  Con- 
federacy. Like  the  old  Borrornean  league,  it  was  a  formal 
and  solemn  offensive  and  defensive  alliance  between  those 
six  catholic  states  against  the  liberal  cantons.  Lucerne 
was  placed  at  the  head  as  catholic  Vorort.  She  was  even 
empowered  to  institute  a  council  of  war,  to  call  out  troops, 
and  to  execute  the  plans  of  the  league  with  an  armed 
hand.  All  this  was  concluded  by  the  leaders  in  council ; 
the  people  were  not  asked  for  their  approval.  The  under- 
taking was  therefore  a  breach  of  their  own  cantonal  con- 
stitution, and  even  more :  a  rebellion  against  the  general 
compact  of  the  Confederates,  although  under  the  pretext 
of  wishing  to  preserve  it  from  infringement.  This  was 
loudly  proclaimed  to  the  world  by  a  second  conference 
held  at  Lucerne  towards  the  end  of  January,  1844,  in  a 


352  SECRET   PLANS.  [1844. 

public  manifest,  wherein  it  was  also  declared  that  the  six 
cantons  would  not  rest  nor  desist  until  the  convents  of 
Aargau  were  reestablished  and  the  rights  of  the  catholic 
church  secured.  The  more  intelligent  were  convinced  that 
other  plans  lurked  in  the  background:  the  annulling  of 
the  liberal  reforms  since  1830,  and  the  elevation  of  the 
church-party  to  supreme  power  in  Switzerland.  This  be- 
came more  evident,  day  by  day,  from  the  zeal  with  which 
the  Sonderbunders  endeavored  to  strengthen  their  party  in 
every  direction.  They  failed,  indeed,  in  their  attempts  to 
win  over  Thurgau  and  St.  Gallen,  but  all  the  greater  was 
their  triumph  when  Valais  joined  them,  after  a  long  con- 
test stained  with  the  blood  of  her  citizens. 


CHAPTER  LXXVII. 

PARTY-HATRED    IN    VALAIS    AND    FRATRICIDE    ON    THE    TRIEST. 
[A.  D.  1844] 

IN  this  rugged,  highland  valley,  accessible  to  its  neigh- 
bors on  the  right  and  left  only  by  mountain-paths  covered 
with  glaciers,  dwelt  a  people  generally  uneducated  and 
subservient  to  the  priesthood.  Some  families  of  the  old- 
time  nobles  ruled  them,  but  without'  the  power  or  the  will 
to  ameliorate  their  mental  or  physical  condition.  After 
its  union  with  Helvetia,  this  country  remained  for  fifteen 
years  sunk  in  dead  inaction.  The  reform-movement  of 
the  Vaudois,  in  1831,  had  first  excited  to  emulation  the 
people  of  Lower- Valais,  influenced  by  the  conversation 
and  customs  of  their  lively  neighbors.  They  had,  from  of 
old,  been  subject  to  the  upper  portion  of  the  country. 
But  when,  in  that  year,  they  loudly  expressed  their  wishes 
for  an  equality  of  rights,  they  were  soon  again  reduced  to 
silence  by  force  of  arms.  In  spite  of  this,  the  tithings  of 
Entremont,  Martigny,  St.  Maurice  and  Monthey,  in  1833, 
after  the  fall  of  the  Sarnenbund,  renewed  their  just  de- 
mands in  a  petition  breathing  noble  sentiments.  The  state- 


1844.]  LIBERAL  CONSTITUTION,  353 

council  again  contemptuously  rejected  it.  The  same  thing 
took  place  on  the  following  year.  But  when  the  tithings 
of  Sierre  and  Sion  joined  the  western  districts,  a  majority 
of  the  council  granted  that  which  could  no  longer  be  re- 
fused. A  constituent-council  framed  a  new  constitution, 
which  was  accepted  by  a  majority  of  the  people  on  17th 
February,  1839.  But  Upper  Valais,  which  had  voted 
against  it,  obstinately  persisted  in  her  opposition.  The 
old  government,  unwilling  to  surrender  their  power,  re- 
tired to  Sierre ;  that  chosen  under  the  new  constitution 
fixed  its  seat  at  Sion.  A  civil  war  was  on  the  point  of 
breaking  out  between  them.  To  prevent  this,  the  vorort 
Zurich  sent  mediators ;  and,  when  these  could  accomplish 
nothing  with  the  embittered  parties,  the  Diet  decided  that 
the  work  on  the  constitution  should  again  be  taken  in 
hand.  Lower  Valais,  though  in  the  right,  submitted  to 
this  decision,  and  sent  deputies  to  the  newly  assembled 
constituent-council.  But  tipper  Valais  inexorably  refused 
to  do  this  also.  The  discussions  began,  nevertheless,  and 
on  the  3d  of  August,  another  constitution  was  completed, 
from  which,  to  satisfy  the  opponents,  the  article  on  the 
freedom  of  the  press  was  stricken  out.  The  people  ac- 
cepted this  also  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  and  even 
many  of  the  communes  of  Upper  Valais  voted  for  it.  The 
Confederate  deputies  declared  that  the  legal  approval  had 
,  been  given,  that  the  object  of  their  mission  was  accom- 
plished, and  returned  home.  But  the  state-council  of 
Sierre,  in  conjunction  with  the  bishop  of  Sion,  resisted 
strenuously,  and,  in  a  circular  letter  to  the  cantons,  de- 
manded a  separation  of  the  upper  district  from  the  western 
tithings. 

Thus  stood  matters  in  Valais  when,  in  1839,  the  vorort 
Zurich  herself  became  the  theatre  of  a  bloody  revolution, 
and  reaction  raised  its  head  everywhere  more  boldly. 
The  first  consequence  of  this  was  that  the  Diet  refused  to 
the  new  constitution  that  guaranty  which  had  been  prom- 
ised by  the  deputies  of  the  Confederacy.  The  liberal  Va- 
laisian  representatives  were  sent  back,  and  a  fresh  media- 
tion ordered.  Now,  the  Lower  Valaisians,  indignant  at 
this  breach  of  faith,  refused  assent.  "  We  prefer  separa- 

2F* 


354  THE   CONVENT  OF  ST.   BERNARD.  [1844, 

tion,"  said  they,  "rather  than  subjection  to  our  old  bond- 
age." The  state-council  of  Sierre,  however,  deemed  them- 
selves strong  enough  to  enforce  submission  to  their  wishes. 
When  a  dispute  respecting  the  trade  in  salt  occurred  be- 
tween citizens  of  the  commune  of  Evolenaz,  which  had 
voted  for  the  constitution  of  3d  August,  they  hastily  or- 
dered out  troops  and  occupied  that  village  (March,  1840). 
Then  the  alarm-drum  beat  through  all  Lower  Valais ;  the 
young  men  seized  their  arms  with  determination  and  hur- 
ried towards  Sion.  Their  opponents,  after  a  short  fight. 
gave  way  before  their  furious  onset.  Now,  the  leaders  of 
Lower  Valais,  Maurice  Barmann  and  Joris,  pressed  irre- 
sistibly forward  with  their  adherents.  Sierre  was  taken ; 
the  old  state-council  fled  ;  shouting  treachery,  the  dispersed 
troops,  in  blind  rage  at  their  defeat,  murdered  grey-haired 
Peter  of  Curten,  brother  of  the  president  of  the  council. 
All  Upper  Valais  submitted  to  the  government  of  Sion, 
which  accomplished  the  work  of  victory  by  a  noble  mode- 
ration. 

But,  although  the  peace-giving  promise  of  forgiveness 
for  all  past  offences  was  made,  no  real  peace  was  restored 
to  the  banks  of  the  Rhone.  The  members  of  the  old  state- 
council,  on  their  return  home,  cherished  inveterate  enmity 
in  their  hearts  and  awaited  the  moment  for  revenge.  To 
them  secretly  adhered  the  numerous  priesthood,  whose 
power,  worthy  of  the  middle  ages,  had  hitherto  flourished 
here  more  than  almost  anywhere  else.  In  the  new  rights 
of  the  people  they  saw  danger  to  their  own  old  supremacy. 
When,  soon  after,  encouragement  came  from  reactionary 
Lucerne,  their  opposition  to  the  liberal  government  was 
more  and  more  openly  declared.  •  This  was  especially  the 
case  in  1843,  when  propositions  were  made  for  two  laws, 
one  of  which  tended  to  the  improvement  of  public  edu- 
cation, and  the  other  provided  that,  in  case  of  military  tax- 
ation, the  clergy  should  also  contribute.  The  Jesuit  mis- 
sions opposed  both  projects  violently.  The  provost  of  St. 
Bernard,  in  his  Whitsuntide  sermon,  expatiated  on  the  in- 
jury done  to  the  people  by  the  public  schools.  The  tax- 
ing of  ecclesiastical  property  was  openly  declared  to  be 
contrary  to  catholic  doctrine,  and  the  government  de- 


1844.]  BERNARD   MEYER.  355 

nounccd  as  haters  of  religion.  The  consequence  was  that 
the  frightened  people  at  once  rejected  both  propositions. 
This  victory  encouraged  the  clerical  leaders  to  further 
steps,  •  The  society  of"  Young  Switzerland"  was  especially 
a  thorn  in  their  sides,  because  the  changes  of  1839  were 
due  to  its  activity  and  it  now  gave  important  support  to 
the  government.  Against  it  the  principal  attack  was  di- 
rected. Its  members  were  debarred  from  all  the  privi- 
leges of  the  church,  from  the  confessional,  from  partaking 
of  the  sacrament,  from  acting  as  godfathers  in  baptism. 
The  bishop  even  ordered  that  the  reading  of  the  "  Echo  of 
the  Alps,"  published  by  that  society,  should  be  forbidden 
from  all  pulpits.  In  consequence  of  all  this,  bitter  hatred 
again  burned  between  the  parties.  It  reached  an  un- 
equalled height,  when,  towards  the  end  of  1843,  a  new  choice 
of  legislators  was  to  take  place.  It  was  known  that  the 
rich  convent  of  St.  Bernard,  by  distributing  money,  the  ab- 
bey of  St.  Maurice,  by  means  of  emissaries,  influenced  the 
electors.  No  effort  was  left  untried  to  spur  the  people  to 
a  raging  fanaticism.  Some  liberals  were  even  assassi- 
nated. Neither  did  the  "  Young  Swiss"  remain  within  the 
bounds  of  moderation.  A  band  of  these  tumultuously  de- 
stroyed the  printing-office  of  the  "  Simplon  Zeitung,"  an 
engine  of  the  clergy,  at  the  very  moment  when  the  people 
were  on  their  way  to  the  polls.  Nothing,  however,  could 
now  prevent  the  long-prepared  revolution.  The  votes 
were  given  in  great  majorities  for  the  friends  of  priestly 
supremacy,  and  the  magistrates  were  almost  passive  tools 
in  the  hands  of  the  obscurantist  party,  whose  most  influen- 
tial leader  at  that  time  was  the  prebendary  of  Rivaz.  Now 
the  country  was  again  rent  by  a  fearful,  inextinguishable 
hatred.  The  "  Young  Swiss"  established  a  directing  com- 
mittee at  Martigny.  On  both  sides,  citizens  armed  for 
another  conflict  with  citizens.  The  outbreak  followed, 
when,  in  Berrossaz,  a  murderous  attack  upon  an  unarmed 
old  man  was  avenged  by  gun-shots  from  the  opponents 
(1st  May,  1844).  Now,  the  state-council  called  forth 
troops,  and,  at  the  same  time,  requested  Confederate  inter- 
ference. The  vorort  Lucerne  sent  her  reactionary  state- 
secretary,  Bernard  Meyer,  with  a  double  mission :  ostensi- 


856  YALAIS  JOINS  [1844. 

bly  a  mediator,  he  was  to  advise  the  adoption  of  bloody 
measures  to  subdue  the  liberals.  From  this  moment  the 
state-council  pursued  their  arbitrary  course  without  regard 
to  law  or  constitution.  The  opposition-members  were  ex- 
cluded from  the  sittings  of  the  council ;  but  almost  unlim- 
ited power  was  conferred  on  William  of  Kalbermatten, 
the  partisan  leader  of  Upper  Valais.  At  his  command-, 
masses  of  the  landsturm  and  militia  from  Upper  Valais 
rushed  into  Sion  (18th  May).  Liberals  from  the  western 
tithings,  hastily  assembled  by  the  committee  at  Martigny, 
hud  come  from  the  other  side  to  the  gates  of  the  city,  but 
could  not  maintain  their  ground  against  the  overpowering 
force  of  their  adversaries.  Discouraged,  they  turned  on 
their  homeward  march.  But,  on  the  dividing  line  be- 
tween St.  Maurice  and  Martigny,  where  the  torrent  of  the 
Trient,  rushing  from  the  rugged  mountain-valley,  cuts 
through  the  highway  to  precipitate  itself  into  the  Rhone, 
a  last  fearful  blow  already  awaited  them.  For  here,  a 
strong  force  had  been  placed  in  ambush  under  command 
of  Major  Jost.  With  shouts,  these  so  styled  uOld  Swiss" 
attacked  the  unprepared  and  straggling  band  of  those  who 
were  returning  to  their  homes.  From  the  covered  bridge, 
from  behind  rocks  and  bushes,  flashed  their  death-bearing 
shots.  Soon  man  grappled  with  man.  They  killed  with 
the  rage  of  tigers.  Thirty  bodies  of  the  "  Young  Swiss" 
bled  upon  the  ground;  the  rest  saved  themselves  over  the 
swampy  plain,  or  by  swimming  across  the  Rhone.  But 
the  conquerors  followed  them  for  some  distance,  and  shock- 
ingly mutilated  the  already  dead  bodies.  This  was  the 
fratricide  on  the  Trient  (20th  May).  It  confirmed  the  vic- 
tory to  the  old-party.  The  -leaders  of  Lower  Valais  were 
outlawed  and  compelled  to  flee.  Their  work,  the  consti- 
tution of  1839,  was  annulled,  and  another  established  in 
its  stead.  By  this,  the  former  power  of  the  priesthood  was 
secured  in  exemption  from  all  taxes  and  freedom  from  ac- 
countability to  the  civil  tribunals.  The  task  of  instruction, 
was  confided  to  the  Jesuits  exclusively.  The  practice  of 
private  worship  was  no  longer  allowed  to  such  Swiss  cit- 
izens of  the  reformed  faith  as  remained  in  the  canton. 
Thus  the  assertion  of  the  prebendary  of  Rivaz  was  made 


1844.]  THE   SONDERBUNTX  357 

good :  That  Valais  must  first  of  all  be  catholic,  then  Swiss. 
The  peace  of  death  thenceforward  prevailed  in  the  Rhone 
canton,  which  was  now  the  seventh  confederate  of  the 
Sonderbund. 


CHAPTER  LXXVIII. 

THE  JESUITS  INVITED  TO  LUCERNE,       FIRST  FREE-CORPS    EXPEDITION.- 
[A.  D.  1844.] 

As  soon  as  the  tidings  of  the  butchery  on  the  Trient 
spread  through  the  Confederacy,  thousands  of  voices  were 
raised  in  denunciation  of  the  followers  of  Loyola,  as  insti- 
gators of  so  horrid  a  crime.  In  the  great-council  of  Aar- 
gau,  Augustine  Keller,  who,  full  of  noble  daring,  had  first 
moved  the  suppression  of  the  convents,  now  also  stepped 
forward  to  propose  the  exclusion  of  that  order  from  the 
Confederacy.  In  words  of  flame,  he  depicted  their  power 
and  proceedings  in  the  fatherland,  and  proved  that  their 
presence  was  incompatible  with  the  public  welfare.  The 
great- council  adopted  his  motion  almost  unanimously 
(29th  May,  1844),  and,  in  a  circular  letter,  advised  the  other 
cantons  of  their  proceeding.  It  found  little  favor,  how- 
ever, with  the  governments,  but  much  more  with  the  peo- 
ple of  Switzerland.  At  the  great  shooting- festival  at  Bale, 
where  the  four-hundredth  anniversary  of  the  hero-fight  of 
St.  Jacques  was  simultaneously  celebrated,  that  proposi- 
tion was  the  exciting  watchword  of  the  day. 

Ever  nearer  approached  the  danger  which  threatened 
the  Confederacy.  Not  only  were  Valais  and  Freiburg  and 
Schwyz,  where  the  Jesuits  had  long  since  secured  afoot- 
hold,  almost  slavishly  subjected  to  their  influence,  but  even 
the  vorort  Lucerne  now  showed  herself  inclined  to  take 
to  her  bosom  those  bold  champions  of  the  papal  see. 

A  large  portion  of  her  citizens  had,  indeed,  long  been 
struggling  against  such  a  design.  In  January,  1842,  when 
it  was  proposed  in  the  great-council  to  entrust  to  the 


358  FREE   EXPRESSION   PROHIBITED.  [1844. 

Jesuits  the  direction  of  the  higher  academies,  that  assem- 
bly had  decided  in  the  negative.  It  was  convincingly  de- 
monstrated by  enlightened  men  that  several  provisions  of 
the  constitution  would  thereby  be  violated.  But  Leu  and 
Siegwart,  the  principal  favorers  of  the  Ultramontanes,  did 
not  allow  themselves  to  be  deterred  by  this.  In  order  to 
persuade  the  people  to  support  their  plans,  missions  were 
commanded,  and  clever  preachers  of  the  order  traversed 
the  canton  from  place  to  place.  Their  eloquence,  full  of 
seductive  images  and  fanatical  hatred  against  those  of  a 
different  persuasion,  soon  won  over  the  ignorant  masses. 
The  followers  of  Loyola  were  regarded  as  the  saviors  and 
angels  of  the  persecuted  catholic  faith. 

Many  publications,  however,  zealously  and  loudly  ex- 
posed their  deceptive  fallacies.  Then  the  political  leaders 
tried  to  muzzle  the  press  by  multiplied  legal  proceedings. 
When  it  would  not  be  silenced,  force  was  employed,  and, 
by  a  law,  the  masterpiece  of  complete  tyranny  over  opi- 
nion, every  free  expression  by  word  or  pen  was  prohibited 
(8th  March,  1843).  In  vain  did  many  noble  men,  for  the 
last  time,  raise  their  warning  voices  against  the  destruction 
of  this,  to  a  republic,  most  precious  jewel ;  the  submissive 
people  permitted  every  thing.  And  now,  in  the  territory 
of  Lucerne,  every  opinion,  except  that  of  the  rulers,  was 
silenced.  Even  the  newspapers  of  other  cantons  were  for- 
bidden to  enter :  the  borders  were  to  be  enclosed  as  by  a 
brazen  wall.  Step  by  step  the  leaders  advanced  towards 
their  object.  Liberal  young  men  were  sought  out  and  de- 
prived of  employment;  even  the  intercourse  of  trade  with 
other  districts  was  trammelled.  Notwithstanding  all  this, 
however,  when  a  second  attempt  was  made,  in  November, 
1843,  to  introduce  the  order  of  Jesus,  the  government  still 
again  refused,  though  but  by  the  casting  vote  of  the  presi- 
dent. The  bishop  of  Bale  also  declared  himself  satisfied 
with  the  previous  management  of  the  higher  academies, 
and  most  of  the  clergy  of  the  canton  voted  with  him. 
Only  by  the  triumph  of  the  "  old  Swiss "  in  Valais  and 
the  strengthening  of  the  Sonderbund  in  consequence  of  the 
irresolution  of  their  opponents,  was  the  fulfilment  of  the 
designs  of  the  church-party  secured. 


1844.]  THE  KNUTWYL-TTNTOIT.  359 

At  the  Diet  of  1844,  the  old  differences  among  the  libe- 
rals again  manifested  themselves.  The  deputy  of  the  Va- 
laisian  government  which  originated  in  blood-stained  in- 
justice, was  not  forbidden  to  take  his  seat  in  the  assembly. 
Bernard  Meyer,  who,  as  deputy  of  the  Yorort,  had  advised 
that  deed  of  violence,  vindicated  his  ignominious  conduct 
from  the  president's  chair,  without  meeting  with  much  op- 
position. When  the  proposition  of  Aargau  respecting  the 
Jesuits  came  under  discussion,  Bale-country,  only,  voted 
with  that  canton.  This  disposal  of  the  pending  question 
of  the  day  emboldened  the  Lucerners  to  proceed  in  their 
long-prepared  work.  Kegardless  of  the  lamentations  of 
the  fatherland,  and  in  spite  of  the  warnings  and  prayers 
of  the  best  among  their  own  party,  the  great-council,  by 
seventy  votes  against  twenty-four,  decreed  the  invitation 
of  the  Jesuits  (24th  Oct.).  Seven  teachers  of  this  society 
were  to  direct  the  youth  in  the  study  of  the  sciences. 
They  Were  to  be  allowed  to  live  and  labor  according  to 
the  rules  of  their  order.  For  this  purpose,  considerable 
property  and  privileges  were  granted  to  them.  Thus  Lu- 
cerne sank  entirely  into  a  willing  tool  of  the  Roman  court. 
The  constitution  was  violated,  and  the  old  rights  of  the 
citizens  seemed  forever  annihilated.  A  portion  of  the 
people  still  struggled  courageously  for  the  exercise  of  the 
veto.  But  in  vain.  The  majority  of  the  citizens,  influ- 
enced by  church-fanaticism,  rose  tumultuously  in  favor  of 
the  council's  decree,  and  others,  urged  by  threats,  assented 
to  what  was  inevitable.  The  whole  country  was  rent  by 
a  deep  schism ;  brothers  were  inflamed  against  brothers, 
sons  against  fathers ;  distrust  of  each  other  and  fear  for  the 
future  took  possession  of  all  minds. 

Under  the  influence  of  this  division  in  their  own  can- 
ton and  of  the  fearfully  increasing  excitement  among  the 
neighboring  Confederates,  some  bold  men  determined  to 
compel  a  reversal  of  the  decree  respecting  the  Jesuits  by 
force  of  arms.  A  committee  of  liberals,  formed  two  years 
before  at  the  baths  of  Knutwyl,  again  bestirred  themselves. 
Near  and  distant  alliances  were  made ;  and  soon  some  op- 
posed the  government  openly.  But  the  latter  held  heed- 
ful watch  upon  the  movements  among  the  people,  aud, 


360  IRRESOLUTION  AND  DISPERSION  [1844. 

towards  the  end  of  November,  introduced  troops  into  the 
city  for  their  protection.  To  prevent  a  surprise,  they 
thought  it  advisable  to  remove  into  safer  keeping  the 
heavy  artillery  which,  for  years,  had  been  confided  to  cer- 
tain places  in  the  country.  In  the  night  of  5th  December 
their  emissaries  entered  the  little  city  of  Willisau,  to  take 
possession  of  the  cannon  in  the  castle.  But  the  citizens, 
awakened  by  the  noise  and  seizing  their  arms,  courageous- 
ly drove  them  away.  This  occurrence  precipitated  the 
execution  of  the  plans  of  the  Knutwyl-union :  all  further 
delay  now  seemed  dangerous.  In  the  extremity  of  the 
occasion,  on  the  7th  of  December,  they  decided  that  an 
attack  should  take  place  the  next  day.  The  rising  was  to 
commence  in  the  city  and  be  supported  by  simultaneous 
advances  from  the  country.  Messengers  hastened  in  every 
direction.  Even  the  allies,  in  Aargau,  Bale-country  and 
Solothurn,  were  notified  to  assist. 

Notwithstanding  the  insufficient  notice,  bands  of  warlike 
men  assembled  in  most  places  at  the  first  call,  and  directed 
their  march  towards  the  city  during  the  night.  Long  be- 
fore the  morning  of  Sunday,  8th  December,  dawned,  the 
men  from  Eothenburg  had  occupied  the  Emmen-bridge 
before  the  city.  The  united  bands  from  Hitzkirch  and 
Hochdorf  joined  them.  They  awaited  a  signal  to  enter 
the  city.  There,  an  inn  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  arse- 
nal had  been  taken  possession  of  by  the  insurgents  during 
the  night.  Towards  morning,  a  large  number  of  them  also 
assembled  on  the  Muhlenplatz.  Some  patrols  of  the  gov- 
ernment troops  were  dispersed  by  musket-shots.  But 
when  a  superior  force  of  the  military  appeared  under  com- 
mand of  lieutenant  Jenni  of  Musswangen,  the  insurgents 
could  no  longer  maintain  their  ground.  In  vain  did  a  re- 
inforcement come  from  the  suburbs.  They  were  compelled 
to  flee ;  many  were  taken  prisoners. 

At  news  of  this,  the  little  band  on  the  Emme  bridge 
also  fell  back  to  Kothenburg.  But  when  the  forces  from 
Munster  and  Neudorf  appeared,  and,  shortly  afterwards, 
information  was  received  of  the  advance  of  fresh  bands 
from  Wiggerthal  and  even  of  stout  men  from  Aargau 
under  lead  of  government-councillor  Waller,  new  courage 


1844.]  OF  THE   INSURGENTS.  361 

was  infused  into  all.  The  conspirators,  now  seven  hun- 
dred in  number,  advanced  a  second  time  as  far  as  the 
Emme.  It  was  about  10  o'clock  in  the  forenoon.  Before 
taking  a  decisive  step,  they  here  halted,  awaiting  the  men 
from  Suhrenthal.  Then  the  drums  beat :  major  Schmidt 
of  Hitzkirch,  with  the  hastily-raised  government  troops, 
came  from  the  valley  of  Emme  towards  the  bridge,  intend- 
ing to  cross  it  by  a  hurried  march.  After  a  vain  attempt 
at  negotiation,  a  short  fight  took  place.  Schmidt  and^  his 
troops  were  compelled  to  flee ;  the  blood  of  many  fallen 
reddened  the  ground.  Directly  afterwards,  the  expected 
reinforcement  from  Suhrenthal  appeared.  But  now,  irre- 
solution took  possession  of  the  leaders.  The  boldest,  in- 
deed, urged  advance:  the  passage  of  the  Eeuss,  the  en- 
trance to  the  city,  lay  open  before  them,  and  therein, 
notwithstanding  the  victory  gained  with  so  little  exertion 
in  the  morning,  helpless  confusion  prevailed.  "Fortune 
favors  the  brave,"  said  they.  But  others,  frightened  by 
the  numerous  fugitives  from  the  city,  and  in  apprehension 
of  the  landwehr  (organized  militia)  which  had  been  called 
out  and  was  approaching  under  Leu,  advised  a  retreat  to 
Sursee.  These  carried  the  day.  A  large  portion  of  the 
people  at  once  turned  on  their  backward  march.  And 
when  the  liberals  from  Aargau  saw  themselves  almost  en- 
tirely deserted,  they  hastened  home  over  Munster.  Their 
example  was  followed  by  the  Solothurners  and  Olteners, 
who  had  come  as  far  as  Buron  with  two  field-pieces.  A 
band  from  Bale-country  also,  which,  in  consequence  of  the 
distance,  only  entered  the  Lucerne  territory  on  the  follow- 
ing night,  immediately  left  it  again  when  they  found  their 
expectations  disappointed.  Thus  did  this  desperate  under- 
taking fail,  more  from  the  want  of  resolution  in  its  leaders, 
than  from  the  power  of  its  adversaries. 

But  the  more  frightened  the  government  of  Lucerne  had 
been,  the  more  intoxicated  were  they  now  by  victory. 
They  determined  to  take  a  fearful  revenge  on  the  insur- 
gents. The  communes  from  which  the  insurrection  pro- 
ceeded were  overwhelmed  by  armed  forces.  State-secre- 
tary Meyer  and  government-councillor  Wendelin  Kost 
made  a  hunt  after  the  liberals.  Innocent  and  guilty  were 
16  2o 


362  BE.   ROBERT  STEIOEB.  [1846. 

imprisoned  in  great  numbers;  among  them  Dr.  Robert 
Steiger,  who  was  considered  the  principal  promoter  of 
what  had  taken  place.  Much  real  and  personal  property 
was  confiscated.  Great  distress  spread  over  the  land. 
Many  hundreds  fled  from  their  homes  into  the  neighboring 
cantons.  All  entreaties  from  the  other  governments,  in 
favor  of  clemency,  were  in  vain ;  they  were  coldly  rejected. 


CHAPTER    LXXIX. 

REVOLUTION   IN   VAUD.       SECOND   FREE-CORPS   EXPEDITION. 
[A.  IX  184&J 

THE  unsisterly  feelings  of  Lucerne  towards  the  Confed- 
erates, and  her  heartlessness  to  her  own  citizens,  excited 
great  indignation.  An  indescribable  bitterness  of  heart, 
such  as  had  never  before  been  known,  prevailed,  from  the 
Rhine  to  lake  Leman.  In  Berne,  Aargau,  Bale-country, 
even  in  Zurich,  meetings,  attended  by  many  thousands, 
were  held  in  the  open  fields  during  the  winter.  At  these 
appeared  fugitives  from  Lucerne,  beseeching  assistance ; 
and  the  sight  of  these  men,  driven  from  their  homes  and 
families,  inflamed  still  more  the  indignation  against  their 
persecutors.  Unions  against  the  Jesuits  were  formed 
everywhere.  Petitions,  covered  with  numberless  names, 
demanded  of  the  great-councils  the  instant  expulsion  of 
the  followers  of  Loyola.  In  case  this  was  not  decreed,  it 
was  to  be  feared  that  the  people  would  rise  a  second  time 
and  try  to  effect  it  by  violence.  In  this  emergency,  a  new 
Diet  was  immediately  summoned.  In  the  mean  while, 
Zurich,  now  the  Vorort,  endeavored  to  avert  the  imminent 
storm  by  mediation.  But  the  words  of  her  messengers  of 
peace  were  not  listened  to  by  the  rulers  of  Lucerne. 

As  the  great-councils  were  now  discussing  the  instruc- 
tions to  be  given  to  their  several  deputies,  the  state-council 
of  Vaud  wished  once  more  to  attempt  the  path  of  concili- 
ation, Already  thirty -two  thousand  electors  of  the  canton 


1345.]  HENRY   DRUEY.  363 

bad  voted  for  the  entire  expulsion  of  the  order  of  Jesus 
from  Switzerland ;  but,  regardless  of  this,  a  majority  of 
the  council  agreed  with  Zurich  in  proposing  to  address  a 
friendly  confederate  request  to  Lucerne :  any  more  decided 
action  appearing  to  them  an  encroachment  on  the  sovereign 
rights  of  that  canton  as  guaranteed  by  the  Confederacy. 
The  great-council  accepted  the  proposition  (13th  Feb). 
But  half- measures  are  always  ruinous  in  times  of  great 
emergency.  The  people  said :  "  He  who  is  not  with  us  is 
against  us;"  and  on  the  same  evening  the  clash  of  arms 
resounded  in,  the  streets  of  Lausanne :  alarm-fires  blazed 
from  height  to  height  along  the  lake  ;  a  serious  outbreak 
was  prepared.  The  state-council,  divided  in  itself,  called 
for  troops.  They  appeared ;  but  with  them  long  trains  of 
people,  with  whom  they  fully  fraternized.  The  council, 
terrified,  abdicated;  and,  in  their  stead,  the  people  held  a 
session  in  arms,  under  the  litne-trees  of  Montbenon.  A 
new  government  was  installed,  under  the  lead  of  Henry 
Druey,  who  had  drawn  up  the  report  of  the  minority  in 
the  state-council ;  arid  the  decree  for  the  expulsion  of  the 
Jesuits  was  announced  amid  immense  rejoicings  (15th 
Feb).  Then  the  crowd  returned  peaceably  to  their  homes. 
Notwithstanding  this  triumph  of  the  popular  will  in 
Vaud,  the  tidings  of  which  were  welcomed  by  the  greater 
part  of  the  nation,  no  majority  in  favor  of  the  removal  of 
the  Jesuits  could  yet  be  united  in  the  Diet  at  Zurich.  To 
Aargau  and  Bale-country,  which  had  stood  alone  in  the 
previous  year,  nine  other  cantons  and  one-half  were  now 
added.  Even  a  request  to  Lucerne  for  milder  treatment  of 
her  prisoners  could  not  be  agreed  upon.  The  deputies  of 
the  Confederacy  appeared  helpless  and  undecided  in  this 
moment  of  most  pressing  danger  to  the  fatherland.  Only 
the  notes  received  at  this  time  from  foreign  powers,  espe- 
cially from  the  French  minister  Guizot,  which,  in  the  tone 
of  a  master  to  subject- vassals,  forbade  further  free-corps 
expeditions,  could  rouse  the  national  feelings  of  most  of 
the  deputies.  Their  reply,  full  of  noble  sentiments  worthy 
of  their  ancestors,  shone  as  a  clear  light  through  those 
days  of  darkest  gloom.  However,  as  public  right  re- 
quired, the  raising  of  free-corps  was  prohibited  by  thirteen 


364  GENERAL  SONNENBERG.  [1846. 

votes.  The  deputies  of  the  Sonderbund-cantons,  who  had 
earnestly  urged  this,  rejoiced;  the  others  returned  home 
with  anxious  hearts. 

A  bloody  encounter  of  the  embittered  parties  had  become 
unavoidable.  Lucerne  armed  openly.  General  Sonnen- 
berg  was  recalled  from  the  service  of  the  king  of  Naples; 
the  defensive  troops  in  service  were  daily  exercised ;  the 
landwehr  were  freshly  organized  and  trained ;  armed  assist- 
ance from  the  Urcantons  and  Zug  was  secured  for  the  hour 
of  need.  And  all  this  was  done  in  the  name  of  endan- 
gered religion.  The  church-zeal  of  the  people  was  in- 
flamed to  indescribable  rage  by  the  priests  and  their  assist- 
ants. Whoever  would  not  act  with  them  was  imprisoned 
or  compelled  to  flee.  The  again  menaced  citizens,  in 
bands,  sought  refuge  in  the  neighboring  cantons. 

But  here,  the  excitement  of  men's  minds  had  reached 
its  highest  pitch.  Since  the  deputies  of  the  Confederacy 
had  separated,  unable  to  loose  the  tangled  knot,  a  deter- 
mination had  been  formed  to  cut  it  with  the  edge  of  the 
sword.  In  spite  of  the  prohibition,  new  free-corps  were 
zealously  raised.  By  day  and  night,  during  the  month  of 
March,  messengers  hurried  in  every  direction,  strengthen- 
ing the  bonds  between  the  unions.  Leagues  were  made, 
weapons  prepared,  accomplices  armed.  Thousands  were 
seized  with  an  inexpressible  enthusiasm  to  free  the  father- 
land from  her  enemies  and  to  restore  the  fugitives  to  their 
homes.  This  dazzling  object,  which  they  expected  to  ac- 
complish almost  without  a  contest,  blinded  their  under- 
standings to  the  injustice  of  their  violent  proceedings,  so 
fraught  with  destruction  to  the  Confederacy.  Even  the 
governments  of  Berne,  Aargau  and  Bale-country,  where 
the  expedition  was  prepared,  carried  away  by  the  popular 
feeling,  no  longer  attempted  to  oppose  the  current.  Thus 
it  happened  that,  when  the  cannon  were  taken  away  from 
the  arsenal  at  Liestal,  from  the  fortress  at  Aarburg  and 
from  the  tower  at  Nidau,  every  remonstrance  on  the  part 
of  the  government-commissioners  proved  of  no  avail.  The 
leagues  hurried  in  great  numbers  towards  Zofingen,  where 
the  principal  rendezvous  was  appointed.  The  Bernese 
partisans  assembled  at  Huttwyl,  on  the  western  border  of 


1846.]  ULRICH  OCHSENBEItf.  365 

Lucerne,  The  chief-command  of  these  was  given  to  Ul- 
rich  Ochsenbein  of  Nidau,  who  had,  on  a  former  occasion, 
led  the  way  into  the  territory  of  Lucerne. 

Before  daybreak  of  30th  March,  the  imposing  train,  in 
military  array,  with  banners  flying,  left, the  gates  of  Zofin- 
gen.  On  the  evening  before,  the  vanguard  had  advanced 
as  far  as  the  villages  of  Dagmersellen  and  Altishofen,  and 
distributed  printed  addresses  to  the  people  of  Lucerne. 
The  plaji  was:  to  turn  the  government-forces  posted  on  the 
lake  of  Sempach  and  the  Reuss,  to  divide  them,  and  to 
reach  the  city,  the  principal  object,  as  quickly  as  possible. 
This  was  done.  The  free-corps  advanced  by  a  day-march, 
through  ways  which  the  enemy  had  not  guarded.  At  Ettis- 
wyl,  the  Bernese  troop  joined  them  from  Huttwyl.  Some 
bands  of  the  landwehr  were  seen  in  the  distance  ;  but  the 
invaders  first  came  to  a  fight  near  Hellbuhl,  with  a  body  of 
troops  which  retreated  at  the  first  volley.  It  was  a  bad 
omen,  however,  that  the  citizens  of  the  canton  nowhere 
joined  the  expedition,  as  had  been  expected.  Wheu  they 
reached  the  Emme,  the  force  divided.  The  smaller  por- 
tion hurried  to  the  bank  of  the  stream,  swollen  by  the 
spring-rains,  to  make  a  sham  attack  upon  the  baths  at 
Kothen  on  the  other  side.  Here  they  were  unexpectedly 
assailed  from  a  masked  battery.  Thrown  into  confusion 
and  without  a  position  which  they  could  maintain  against 
the  superior  force,  they  retreated  in  the  afternoon  to  Hell- 
buhl,  vainly  expecting  further  orders.  The  larger  body, 
in  the  mean  while,  in  spite  of  heavy  discharges  from  field- 
pieces  on  the  other  side,  had  stormed  the  half-covered 
bridge  near  Thorenberg,  and  now  advanced  across  the 
steep  ridge  against  the  churchyard  of  Littau.  General 
Sonnenberg  had,  in  great  haste,  called  in  a  portion  of  his 
scattered  forces  to  defend  the  capital-city,  and  had  also 
received  auxiliaries  from  the  forest-cantons.  He  had 
stationed  some  companies  of  Lucerners  and  Unterwaldeners 
on  the  mountain-plain  of  Littau  to  resist  the  invaders. 
But  the  latter,  outflanking  them,  at  once  forced  them  to  a 
hurried  flight.  Now  the  free-corps  advanced  without  fur- 
ther opposition.  By  nightfall,  they  occupied  the  Gutsch, 
a  spur  of  the  mountain  over  the  city,  and  the  clump  of 

2a* 


DEFEAT  AT  M ALTERS.  [1845. 

houses  at  Ladeli  in  the  valley  of  the  Reuss,  close  to  the 
city-gate.  At  this  moment,  the  fate  of  Lucerne  and  of  the 
Confederacy  wavered  in  the  balance  of  Providence.  Con- 
fusion and  terror  prevailed  within  the  city  ;  the  govern- 
ment prepared  for  flight.  A  few  cannon-shots  from  the 
Gutsch  would  probably  have  occasioned  a  surrender.  But 
in  the  councils  e>f  God  it  was  otherwise  determined.  A 
dangerous  indecision  took  possession  of  the  hitherto  vic- 
torious invaders.  Tired  by  their  long  day's-march,  hungry, 
without  military  union  as  a  whole,  they  lost  order  and 
presence  of  rnind.  Those  on  the  Gutsch  remained  faithful 
at  their  posts,  while  most  of  the  others,  fearful  of  being 
surrounded  by  the  enemy,  retreated  in  the  night  to  Littau. 
Their  pusillanimity  increased ;  orders  were  no  longer 
obeyed;  all  discipline  was  at  an  end.  The  storm-bells 
sounded  from  all  the  church-towers ;  the  alarm-signals  of 
the  landsturm  blazed  on  all  the  mountain -tops.  Those 
who  had  been  waiting  since  evening  at  Hellbuhl,  as  they 
received  no  tidings  whatever  from  the  force  that  had  ad- 
vanced, had  already  commenced  their  backward  march,  and, 
though  attacked  on  the  way  by  the  enemy's  troops  whom 
they  bravely  repulsed,  regained  Zoflngen  in  good  order  on 
the  following  day.  Even  the  leaders  of  the  body  on  the 
heights  of  Littau  gradually  dispersed  during  the  dark- 
ness. Their  cause  was  hopelessly  lost  by  reason  of  the  in- 
creasing disorder.  Finally,  the  whole  force,  conquered  by 
destiny,  not  by  the  enemy,  sought  safety  in  flight.  At 
midnight,  the  mob  of  fugitives,  with  field-pieces,  came  to 
Malters.  Here  they  received  a  murderous  fire  from  the 
windows  and  the  rear  of  the  houses.  In  spite  of  their 
despairing  resistance,  death  so  thinned  their  ranks  that, 
panic-struck,  they  were  obliged  to  disperse.  Bloody  bodies 
of  men  and  horses  covered  the  highways.  Those  who 
escaped  death,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  armed  peasants. 
The  same  result  attended  separate  conflicts.  When  the 
morning  of  the  1st  of  April  dawned,  Sonnenburg  also 
recovered  courage,  and,  from  the  city,  attacked  the  ad- 
vanced posts  which  had  remained  on  the*  Gutsch  and  at 
Ladeli.  Their  spirited  defence  was  useless.  A  small  body 
of  them  did  indeed  cut  their  way  through  and  after  many 


1845.]  RANSOM  OF  THE   PRISONERS.  367 

perils,  wearied  almost  to  death,  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
Bernese  frontier,  at  Melchnau ;  but  the  rest  were  over- 
powered. Thousands  of  fugitives  now  wandered  about  in 
the  woods  and  mountains,  unacquainted  with  the  country, 
without  food,  having  thrown  away  their  arms,  and  sought 
for  safety.  After  them  rushed  the  hordes  of  the  fanatical 
landsturm,  baiting  and  hunting  them  like  wild  beasts. 
Shocking  cruelties  were  practised  on  some  of  the  prisoners. 
Others,  bound  in  gangs  with  ropes,  were  driven  in  savage 
triumphal  procession  to  Lucerne.  Here,  no  prison  was 
large  enough  to  contain  them  all.  They  were  shut  up  in 
the  Franciscan  and  Jesuit  churches  ;  the  leaders  imprisoned 
in  the  city-tower.  Nearly  four  thousand  had  marched  on 
the  preceding  day,  confident  of  victory  ;  hardly  more  than 
the  half  returned.  Over4wo  hundred  had  met  their  death 
from  the  balls  of  the  enemy's  cannon,  or  the  fatal  clubs  of 
the  landsturm,  or  in  the  waters  of  the  Emme ;  eighteen 
hundred  and  thirty-six  prisoners,  badly  fed,  lay  on  straw 
in  the  jails  of  Lucerne.  A  higher  power  had  condemned 
their  rash  undertaking. 

As  soon  as  the  news  of  the  defeat  of  the  free-corps  was 
received,  the  Vorort  ordered  out  a  large  armed  force  to  se- 
cure peace  in  the  fearfully  excited  fatherland.  The  canton 
of  Lucerne  was  surrounded  by  them  in  deep  lines.  The 
Diet,  summoned  by  expresses,  met  immediately  (5  April). 
The  sorrowing  nation  turned  their  eyes  towards  them,  as 
saviors  in  this  unexampled  misfortune.  But  in  vain :  more 
contemptuously  than  ever  did  the  deputies  of  the  victori- 
ous canton  reject  all  entreaties  for  reconciliation  and  mercy. 
The  victory,  now  in  their  hands,  was  to  be  used  as  a  sword 
of  destruction  to  annihilate  their  opponents.  A  few  weeks 
afterwards,  however,  when  the  government  of  Lucerne  re- 
quired money  and  the  maintenance  of  so  many  prisoners 
became  too  expensive,  they  began  to  treat  about  the  ran- 
som. This  amounted  to  350,000  Swiss  francs,*  of  which 
Solothurn  contributed  20,000,  Bale-country  35,000,  Berne 
70,000,  Aargau  200,000,  and  other  cantons  25,000.  In 
addition  to  this  the  Confederacy  had  to  pay  150,000  francs, 
war-expenses.  In  the  last  days  of  April,  the  released  free- 
companions  finally  returned  to  their  weeping  families, 
*  The  Swiss  franc  was  equal  to  about  28  of  our 


368  •  AVOYER  NEUHAUS.  [1845- 


CHAPTER  LXXX. 

PAINFUL   CONSEQUENCES. 
[A.  D.  1845  and  1846.] 

THE  tidings  of  the  destruction  of  the  free-corps  had 
shaken  all  liberal  Switzerland  like  a  thunderbolt.  The 
fruit  of  all  the  labors  of  long  years  seemed  lost  in  a  mo- 
ment. And  woe  to  the  conquered!  Everywhere  their 
opponents  rose  exultingly  and  overwhelmed  them  with 
scoffs  and  curses.  Here  and  there  preparations  were  even 
made  for  a  counter-revolution.  The  ferment  of  a  second 
insurrection  was  already  at  work  in  the  free- bailiwicks  of 
Aargau,  but  when  the  troops  of  Zurich,  suddenly  ordered 
out  by  the  Diet,  unexpectedly  crossed  the  Reuss  from 
Ottenbach,  and  the  roll  of  their  drums  was  heard  near 
Muri,  the  reawakened  desires  were  at  once  extinguished. 
Still  more  was  this  the  case,  when  the  government  of  Aar- 
gau was  protected  by  the  bayonets  of  her  neighbors,  and 
when,  with  noble  candor  respecting  past  errors,  it  paid 
the  ransom  for  the  prisoners  out  of  the  state-treasury,  and 
at  the  same  time  forgave  all  offences  committed  in  conse- 
quence of  the  former  convent-troubles. 

Not  so  quickly  was  the  storm  of  popular  commotion  dis- 
pelled in  Berne.  Here,  those  who  returned  from  Lucerne 
met  with  a  chilling  reception  from  the  leaders  of  the  peo- 
ple. Avoyer  Neuhaus  especially,  who,  by  his  previous 
inactivity,  had  rather  favored  than  impeded  the  free-corps 
expedition,  now  gave  utterance  to  extreme  disapproval  of 
it.  He  went  still  further.  Officials  who  had  taken  part 
in  the  expedition  were  removed,  foreign  leaders  of  the  pop- 
ular unions  expelled  from  the  canton,  and  some  journals, 
which  were  active  in  their  opposition  to  the  government, 
persecuted  with  endlessly  accumulating  law-suits.  Such 
proceedings  occasioned  great  bitterness  of  feeling.  This 
statesman,  shortly  before  loved  and  admired  by  all,  sank 
rapidly  in  popular  estimation.  His  friends  angrily  turned 
their  backs  upon  him ;  his  former  enemies  flocked  closely 


-1846.]  DISAFFECTION  OF  THE  CLERGY. 

around  him.  And  as,  at  the  same  time,  many  instances 
of  maladministration  came  to  light,  the  cry  for  a  new  and 
popular  constitution  increased.  Those  who  had  been  de- 
feated on  the  Jesuit-question,  hoped  to  recover  their  influ- 
ence by  means  of  this.  Long  and  bitter  was  the  struggle 
of  the  parties,  in  the  public  prints  as  well  as  in  the  council- 
chamber  and  in  the  meetings  of  the  unions.  When  Neu- 
haus  saw  that  the  revision  of  the  constitution  would  inev- 
itably take  place,  he  insisted  that  it  must  be  accomplished 
by  the  great- council,  as  the  only  competent  authority.  His 
opponents,  on  the  other  hand,  demanded  a  constituent- 
council.  The  people  voted  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  latter 
(1  Feb.,  1846).  This  occasioned  great  irritation  among 
those  who  had  before  possessed  the  power.  They  declared 
that  this  decision  of  the  people  was  an  outrageous  violation 
of  the  existing  constitution,  and  many  of  them  abdicated 
their  offices.  Threats,  even,  were  employed.  But  the 
choice  of  the  constituent-council  proceeded  without  distur- 
bance, and  their  deliberations  began.  The  once  honored 
name  of  Neuhaus  faded  away,  and  to  his  former  elevation 
was  raised  Ochsenbein,  whose  statesmanly  work  soon  ob- 
scured the  remembrance  of  the  military  misfortunes  suffered 
in  the  free-corps  expedition.  The  new  constitution  was 
elaborated  by  him  and  his  friends.  When  it  was  accepted 
by  the  majority  of  the  people  (13  July),  bonfires,  from  the 
Stockhorn  to  the  slopes  of  the  Jura,  proclaimed  this  first 
victory  in  the  cause  which  had  been  considered  lost  the 
year  before. 

In  Vaud,  also,  a  grudge  remained  on  account  of  the 
mine  which  had  been  sprung  in  the  contest  about  the  Jes- 
uits. After  the  decision  of  February,  1845,  the  work  on 
the  constitution  did  indeed  proceed  peacefully,  till  the 
news  of  the  defeat  on  the  Emme  awakened  fresh  hopes  in 
the  discontented.  The  disaffection  of  many  of  the  clergy 
towards  the  government,  which  showed  itself  no  less  un- 
favorably disposed  towards  them,  occasioned  a  dangerous 
schism  in  the  canton.  When  the  state-council  issued  an 
official  proclamation  respecting  the  business  of  the  consti- 
tution, and  sent  it  to  the  clergy  with  directions  to  read 
it  from  the  pulpits,  many  of  them  refused  beforehand  to 
1G* 


370  MONNARD   OF   LAUSANNE.  [1845- 

do  so.  They  said :  "  Not  only  is  it  at  variance  with  ex- 
isting laws,  but  the  dignity  of  God's  worship  would  be 
diminished  thereby."  In  vain  did  the  government  attempt 
to  enlighten  and  to  pacify  them;  on  the  appointed  Sunday 
(3d  August),  forty  clergymen  omitted  the  reading.  Such, 
contumacy  could  not  be  passed  over  unnoticed.  The  mat- 
ter was  referred  to  the  clerical  Classes  for  investigation, 
and  at  the  same  with  this,  numerous  complaints  respecting 
the  private  religious  exercises  termed  oratorios,  which  were 
held  by  several  clergymen  and  had  quite  often  given  rise 
to  scandalous  scenes.  But  when  the  Classes  almost  unani- 
mously justified  their  brethren  in  office  and  the  excite- 
ment in  the.  country  increased,  the  government  decreed  the 
temporary  suspension  of  the  recusants  from  their  functions. 
Now  the  gauntlet  was  openly  thrown  down  between  the 
ministers  of  the  state  and  those  of  the  church.  The  clergy 
of  the  canton  met  in  the  city-hall  of  Lausanne  for  a  solemn 
conference  (llth  and  12th  November).  It  was  opened 
with  singing  and  prayer.  Numerous  speakers,  among 
them  Monnard,  before  honorably  known  as  a  deputy  to 
the  Swiss  Diets,  depicted  in  burning  words  the  injustice 
which  church-freedom  had  long  suffered,  and  complained 
of  the  arbitrary  encroachments  of  the  civil  power.  At 
this  moment  of  great  excitement,  153  clergymen  signed  a 
pledge  to  surrender  their  benefices  at  once.  Many  may 
have  been  urged  by  their  consciences  to  this  step ;  others, 
probably,  by  the  secret  hope  that  the  people  would  turn  in 
their  favor.  In  this  difficult  emergency,  Druey,  the  pres- 
ident of  the  state-council,  asked  the  representatives  for 
extraordinary  powers.  They  were  granted.  Once  more 
an  attempt  was  made  at  reconciliation,  and  when  this 
failed,  an  immediate  rigorous  removal  from  office  of  all 
the  signers  of  the  pledge  took  place.  The  oratorios  were 
closed  at  the  same  time.  There  was  great  excitement 
among  the  people  at  this.  Many  blamed,  more  applauded 
the  decree  of  the  state-council.  Rough  outbreaks  of  the 
people's  anger  against  the  deposed  clergymen  and  their 
adherents  often  occurred.  The  irritation  of  men's  minds 
lasted  a  long  while.  This  matter  made  a  great  noise 
throughout  Switzerland  and  through,  all  Europe.  The 


-1846.]  JUDGE  AMMANN.  371 

clergymen  received  approving  and  encouraging  addresses 
from  clergy  and  laity  of  many  foreign  lands,  and  even 
from  king  Frederic  William  of  Prussia.  The  interest  taken 
in  the  church-dispute  of  Vaud  was  only  lost,  by  degrees,  in 
the  overpowering  impression  caused  by  after  events. 

But  the  painful  consequences  of  the  free-corps  expedi- 
tion were  felt  most  keenly  by  Lucerne  herself.  Here,  since 
that  event,  terror,  under  the  name  of  holy  religion,  ruled 
more  severely  than  before.  After  the  prisoners  from  the 
other  cantons  had  been  released,  still  harsher  measures 
were  employed  towards  'those  of  her  own  territory.  Ex- 
amining-judge  Ammann  from  Thurgau  was  charged  with 
the  prosecution  of  the  endless  suits  against  them.  The 
curse  of  many  unhappy  families  still  hangs  about  his 
name:  for  bare  suspicion  was  enough 'to  bring  confiscation 
and  fines,  imprisonment  and  severe  suffering  upon  the 
heads  of  disliked  opponents.  No  page  in  the  history  of 
Switzerland  is  stained  with  blacker  sins  in  the  administra- 
tion of  public  justice.  And  amid  the  lamentations  of  the 
whole  nation,  the  fathers  of  the  society  of  Jesus  made  their 
entrance  into  this  canton  whelmed  in  blood  and  tears 
(29th  June,  1845).  But  shortly  after  this  took  place  came 
the  news  :  "  Robert  Steiger  is  free  !"  He  had  been 
again  taken  prisoner  in  the  second  free-corps  expedition. 
Against  him,  as  the  principal  leader,  the  anger  of  his  ad- 
versaries was  most  fierce.  The  court  condemned  him  to 
be  shot.  But  when  the  most  touching  entreaties  in  his 
behalf  were  received  from  individuals  and  from  govern- 
ments, from  the  Vorort,  from  the  bishops  of  Solothurn 
and  Freiburg,  even  from  foreign  embassadors,  the  gov- 
ernment of  Lucerne  decided  not  to  execute  the  sentence  of 
death  but  to  render  this  dangerous  man  forever  innocu- 
ous. He  was  to  expiate  his  offence  by  confinement  for 
life  in  a  Sardinian  fortress.  But  three  land-yagers,  de- 
voted to  him,  rescued  him  by  night  through  the  walls  of 
the  Kesseltower  (19th  June),  and  brought  him  in  safety  to 
Zurich.  A  loud  cry  of  joy  greeted  the  success  of  this  en- 
terprise from  all  countries,  even  from  the  United  States  of 
America.  But  the  tidings  of  another  occurrence  excited 
abhorrence  in  even  a  greater  degree.  The  man  of  the 


872  MURDER  OF  LEU.  [1846- 

people,  Joseph  Leu  of  Ebersoll,  the  most  influential  favorer 
of  the  Jesuits,  was  found  dead  in  his  bed,  shot  through 
the  heart  (night  of  19th  July).  The  consequence  of 
this  crime  was  almost  as  horrible  as  the  crime  itself.  For 
the  rulers  of  Lucerne  laid  to  the  charge  of  the  whole  party 
of  their  opponents  the  unrighteous  deed  which  a  single  in- 
dividual had  perpetrated.  A  fresh  course  of  prosecutions 
and  imprisonments  ensued,  which  was  continued  for  years. 
Examining-judge  Ammann  had  plenty  of  work.  But 
Leu's  name,  thenceforth,  shone  among  the  popular  saints ; 
incessant  pilgrimages  to  his  grave  were  made  by  the  pious. 
Thus  his  death  did  more  to  strengthen  his  work  than  he 
could  have  done  if  living. 


CHAPTER  LXXXI. 

THE    CRISIS    APPROACHES. 
[A,  D.  1S46  to  1847.] 

IN  the  mean  while  the  Sonderbund  of  the  seven  cantons 
was  knit  more  and  more  closely.  But  the  world  had  as 
yet  only  conjectures,  rather  than  certainty,  about  their  de- 
signs. The  leaders  were  seen  to  meet  frequently,  but  no 
information  respecting  their  deliberations  transpired.  Men 
knew  of  the  missions  of  the  Jesuit-preachers,  of  the  nume- 
rous assemblages  for  devotion,  the  pilgrimages  and  other 
priestly  machinery  to  excite  popular  fanaticism ;  they  saw 
the  continuous  military  preparations ;  but  the  object  of  all 
this  remained  in  doubt.  Then  the  veil  of  the  secrecy  sud- 
denly fell,  and  the  transactions  of  the  conference  at  the 
baths  of  Rothen  were  unexpectedly  revealed.  The  great- 
|  council  of  Freiburg  at  last  discussed  in  open  session  the 
1  matter  of  their  connection  with  the  Sonderbund.  The  ex- 
istence of  a  vast  conspiracy  against  the  unity  and  safety  of 
the  Confederacy  was  now  apparent.  The  vorort  Zurich 
immediately  questioned  Lucerne  respecting  the  nature  of 
this  dangerous  compact ;  and,  when  the  answer  removed 


-1847.]  JAMES  PAZY.  373 

all  doubt,  required  the  cantons  to  give  instructions  on  this 
point  to  the  next  Diet.  But,  at  the  regular  yearly  session 
of  the  latter,  no  twelve  votes  could  be  united  for  any  de- 
cision. They  could  not  agree:  either  upon  an  edict  to 
expel  the  Jesuits,  or  to  remodel  the  confederate  compact 
according  to  the  spirit  of  the  times,  or  to  dissolve  the  Son- 
derbund.  Zurich,  Berne,  Glarus,  Schaff  hausen,  Grisons, 
Aargau,  Thurgau,  Ticino,  Vaud,  with  Bale-country  and 
Outer- Appenzell,  did  indeed  come  forward  with  determi- 
nation to  assert  the  rights  and  honor  of  the  fatherland. 
Against  them  stood  the  catholic  seven  in  immovable  ob- 
stinacy. The  rest  were  rendered  powerless  by  division. 
The  deputy  of  Geneva,  a  docile  scholar  of  the  French  min- 
ister Guizot,  openly  testified  his  inclination  towards  the 
party  of  the  Sonderbund.  He  even  urged  the  plan  to  ap- 
point a  committee  of  representatives  from  the  cantons  as 
supervisors  to  the  future  vorort  Berne,  from  whose  bold- 
ness some  decisive  action  was  feared. 

Thereat  a  wild  storm  burst  forth  at  Geneva.  The  union 
of  the  Third  of  March  was  still  strong.  The  members 
now  roused  themselves  to  fresh  activity.  When  the  coun- 
cil of  representatives  issued  new  instructions  in  accordance 
with  the  sentiments  of  their  deputy,  the  minority  pro- 
tested, left  the  council-hall  and  called  upon  the  people  to 
decide  (3d  October).  The  citizens  hastily  assembled  on 
the  square  of  the  Temple,  in  spite  of  a  stormy  rain.  Here, 
the  champion  of  liberty,  James  Fazy,  stood  forth,  and, 
with  triumphant  eloquence,  exposed  the  treachery  in- 
tended against  the  Confederacy.  Amid  loud  shouts  of  the 
crowd,  the  decision  of  the  council  was  declared  null,  and  a 
committee  of  the  people  charged  to  draw  up  a  new  consti- 
tution (5th  October).  Then  the  government  hurriedly 
prepared  to  quell  the  outbreak.  But  the  liberals  betook 
themselves  to  St.  Gervais,  the  little  city  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Rhone,  and  there  threw  up  barricades  during  the 
night.  A  requirement  from  the  state-council  to  demolish 
these  and  to  surrender  their  leaders,  was  decisively  re- 
jected. When  the  time  allowed  (till  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  of  7th  October)  had  elapsed,  the  government- 
troops  brought  their  field-pieces  to  the  bank  of  the  river 

2n 


374  DISTURBANCES  IN  [1846- 

and  directed  a  heavy  connonade  against  St.  Gervais.  It 
was  answered  by  rifle-shots  from  the  windows  and  roofs  of 
the  opposite  houses.  An  attempt  of  the  troops  to  storm 
the  bridge  was  repelled  by  the  bravery  of  their  opponents. 
Finally,  after  a  bloody  fight  of  three  hours  the  troops  re- 
turned sullenly  to  their  barracks.  The  excitement  still 
increased.  On  the  next  day,  the  burghers  of  the  larger 
city  also  deserted  the  government ;  then  the  latter  ab- 
dicated. The  victors  of  St.  Gervais  joyfully  crossed  the 
half-burned  bridge  to  unite  with  their  fellow-citizens.  A 
great  assembly  on  the  place-Molard  installed  a  provisional 
government  under  the  lead  of  Fazy.  The  accession  of 
Geneva  to  the  liberal  cantons  in  the  Jesuit  and  Sonder- 
bund  question  was  at  the  same  time  unanimously  decided 
upon  by  the  people. 

On  the  other  hand,  however,  a  movement  in  the  canton 
of  Freiburg,  occurring  almost  immediately  after,  did  not 

§  reduce  a  similar  result.  Here,  the  citizens  of  the  reformed 
istrict  of  Morat  had  already,  in  June,  addressed  to  the 
Diet  fruitless  complaints  respecting  the  decision  of  the 
great-council  in  favor  of  Lucerne.  Now,  encouraged  by 
the  tidings  of  success  at  Geneva,  they  presented  fresh  pe- 
titions urging  withdrawal  from  the  Sonderbund.  The 
patriots  of  the  French  districts  of  Estavayer,  Surpierre  and 
Dompierre  also  joined  those  of  Morat.  In  the  popular  as- 
semblies, the  inimical  feeling  of  a  large  portion  of  their 
inhabitants  against  the  Jesuits  was  manifested  more  openly 
than  before.  When  some  of  the  principal  speakers  in 
those  assemblies  were  arrested  on  that  account  by  the  po- 
lice, they  were  rescued  by  a  tumultuous  mob,  singing  lib- 
erty-songs. But  the  government,  assured  of  the  fidelity 
of  the  catholic,  German,  portion  of  the  country,  assembled 
troops.  The  insurrection  now  burst  forth,  but  it  wanted 
order  and  union  in  itself.  A  body  of  insurgents  marched 
from  Morat  against  the  capital-city;  another  from  Esta- 
vayer (7th  Jan.,  1847) ;  but  they  soon  dispersed,  all  chance 
of  success  being  destroyed  by  their  own  imbecility  and 
want  of  prudence.  The  troops  of  the  government  imme- 
diately occupied  the  seditious  districts.  Here,  also,  prose- 


-1847.]  FREIBURG  AND   BERNE.  375 

cutions  and  imprisonments  took  place.  The  Sonderbund 
enjoyed  a  new  triumph. 

Even  in  recently-quieted  Berne,  the  discontented  sought, 
about  this  time,  to  open  the  way  for  a  counter-revolution. 
The  opportunity  seemed  favorable,  when  the  government 
appointed  the  free-thinking  minister,  Dr.  Zeller  of  Tubin- 
gen, as  professor  in  the  university.  Immediately,  in  op- 
position to  him,  as  in  the  time  of  Strauss  at  Zurich,  a  loud 
cry  of  danger  to  religion  rose  from  ecclesiastical  and  laical 
opponents  over  city  and  country.  But  it  was  soon  seen 
that  the  attempt  was  powerless  against  the  steady  persist- 
ency of  the  Bernese  people.  The  great:council  passed 
over  the  motion  presented  to  them  to  the  order  of  the  day 
(24th  March),  and  the  opposed  professor  entered  upon  his 
office  without  further  disturbance. 

St.  Gallen,  also,  had  her  day  of  trial.  Her  great-council 
had  for  many  years  been  without  influence,  almost  null, 
in  Confederate  matters:  for  parties  were  always  so  equally 
divided,  almost  to  a  man,  that  a  valid  decision  could  sel- 
dom be  obtained.  Now,  a  new  choice  of  members,  accord- 
ing to  the  constitution,  drew  near.  There  was  a  hot  elec- 
tion-contest in  all  the  communes,  as  to  whether  the  cause 
of  the  common  fatherland  or  of  the  Sonderbund  should 
prevail.  The  priest-party  made  great  efforts  to  secure  a 
preponderance  of  votes.  The  eyes  of  all  in  the  Confede- 
racy were  turned  towards  this  canton,  upon  whose  cast  the 
result  again  depended,  as  in  the  time  of  the  convent-ques- 
tion. It  was  in  favor  of  the  honor  and  rights  of  the  father- 
land. The  catholic  district  of  Gaster  turned  the  scale  by 
the  votes  of  her  liberal  citizens  (2d  May).  Thereat  loud 
rejoicing  was  heard  throughout  Switzerland,  for  now 
brightened  the  hope  of  a  union  of  the  majority  of  the  can- 
tons in  coming  eventful  days. 


376  WARLIKE  PREPARATIONS.  [1847 


CHAPTER  LXXXII. 

THE    SONDERBUND-WAR. 
[A.  D.  1847.] 

CALAMITY  after  calamity  afflicted  the  fatherland.  Two 
winters  of  severe  scarcity  had  turned  the  cares  of  govern- 
ment and  people  almost  exclusively  to  the  relief  of  the 
necessitous.  But  a  more  imperious  anxiety  soon  over- 
powered all  others.  In  the  summer  of  1847,  Lucerne, 
with  her  co-leaguers,  prepared  for  war  more  openly  than 
ever.  A  committee  of  war  from  the  seven  cantons  was 
now  actually  established;  stores  of  arms  and  munitions 
were  collected  in  great  quantities  ;  the  work  on  the  fortifi- 
cations at  the  frontiers  of  the  Sonderbund-cantons  and  at 
some  points  within  their  territories  was  pressed  by  day 
and  night ;  their  active  defensive  force  incessantly  exer- 
cised in  arms ;  the  landsturm  disciplined  ;  and  Ulrich  of 
Salis-Soglio  invited  from  Grisons  to  take  the  chief  com- 
mand of  their  formidable  army.  If  any  one  asked  the 
object  of  such  unusual  preparations,  the  answer  was  :  "  To 
repel  a  new  free-corps  attack."  And  yet  everybody  knew 
that  such  a  thing  could  not  again  occur,  for  the  bloody 
lesson  on  the  Emme  had  been  more  effectual  than  all  the 
prohibitions  of  the  governments.  The  real  intentions  of 
the  Sonderbunders  were  no  longer  a  secret,  however. 
Their  scornful  defiance  betrayed  them :  they  prepared  for 
open  rebellion  against  the  Confederacy.  The  rule  of  the 
liberal  governments  was  to  be  put  an  end  to  by  force  of 
arms,  and  the  recent  constitutions  abolished.  Into  their 
schemes,  as  afterwards  discovered,  also  entered  a  plan  for 
the  partition  of  the  territories  of  Aargau,  Berne,  Zurich 
and  other  cantons.  Jesuitism,  everywhere  predominant, 
was  to  give  laws  to  all  Switzerland  for  the  future.  The 
conspirators  hardly  entertained  a  doubt  of  the  success  of 
their  designs.  They  reckoned  upon  division  and  conse- 
quent impotency  among  the  other  cantons,  while  they  con- 
fidently relied  on  the  invincibility  of  their  own  people, 


1847.]  ARMS  FROM  AUSTRIA.  377 

united  by  identical  fanaticism.  They  even  counted,  trea- 
sonably, on  foreign  assistance.  The  courts  of  Vienna  and 
Paris,  favoring  their  plans,  had  already  forwarded  the  ac- 
complishment by  supplies  of  arms.  The  embassador  of 
France,  Bois  le  Comte,  to  sound  men's  minds  and  to  ad- 
vance the  undertaking,  busily  travelled  through  the  can- 
tons. But  the  soul  of  the  whole  was  avoyer  Constantine 
Siegwart  of  Lucerne.  He,  by  birth  a  foreigner,  for  his 
own  ambitious  purposes  staked  the  happiness  of  his  new 
country,  to  which  he  felt  no  attachment,  upon  the  perilous 
hazards  of  a  game  of  chance. 

The  Diet  assembled  at  Berne  early  in  July.  Never  had 
their  proceedings  been  expected  with  so  much  anxiety 
ami  never  did  they  fulfil  their  duties  with  more  manly  de- 
cision. A  series  of  important  decrees  proclaimed  to  the 
nation  the  intention  of  the  liberal  cantons,  twelve  and  two 
halves,  to  meet  the  danger  with  bold  determination.  And 
the  tutelar  genius  of  the  fatherland  stretched  over  them  his 
strength-giving  arms.  At  the  very  first  sitting,  the  matter 
of  the  catholic  Sonderbund  was  discussed.  Noble  Con- 
federates, especially  Furrer  of  Zurich,  Kern  of  Thurgau 
and  Naff  of  St.  Gallen,  demonstrated  unanswerably  the  il- 
legality of  its  existence,  as  well  as  the  danger  to  the  father- 
land with  which  it  was  fraught.  In  vain  did  the  seven 
strive  against  them ;  in  vain  did  Bale-city,  Neuchatel  and 
Inner-Appenzell  attempt  to  mediate  ;  it  was  solemnly 
decreed :  "  The  Sonderbund  is  dissolved."  (20th  July.) 
When,  shortly  after,  the  news  came  that  a  quantity  of 
arms  sent  by  Austria  for  the  Urcantons  had  been  seized  in 
Ticiuo,  not  only  was  this  approved  of,  but  the  seizure  of 
all  future  consignments  of  a  similar  character  ordered 
throughout  the  whole  circumference  of  the  Confederacy. 
At  the  same  time,  orders  were  sent  to  the  Sonderbund -can- 
tons to  desist  from  their  warlike  preparations,  lest  the 
peace  of  the  country  should  be  thereby  endangered  (llth. 
Aug.).  Then  Geneva  proposed:  that  the  names  of  all 
Confederate  staff-officers  who  remained  in  the  service  of 
the  Sonderbund,  should  be  erased  from  the  army-list. 
This  also  was  decreed.  Finally,  the  Jesuit-cantons  were 
req  nested  to  dismiss  the  order,  and  its  further  admittance 

2a* 


378  THE  CANTONS  DECIDE.  [1847. 

(into  other  cantons)  was  prohibited  (3d  Sept.).  After  ac- 
complishing this  work,  the  deputies  adjourned  for  six 
weeks,  to  await  the  fulfilment  of  their  decrees  and  to  take 
the  sense  of  the  nation. 

The  gloomy  stillness  which  precedes  the  bursting  of  a 
storm  lowered  over  Helvetia.  The  people  and  councils  of 
the  cantons  met,  to  lay  their  last  word,  for  or  against,  in 
the  balance.  In  Uri,  Schwyz  and  U nterwalden,  the  lead- 
ers announced  to  the  general  assemblies  that  freedom  and 
religion  would  be  alike  destroyed,  if  the  Confederates  were 
not  withstood,  as  Austria  had  formerly  been  at  Morgarten. 
A  furious  shout  on  all  side;?  approved  their  course.  It 
was  almost  unanimously  decided  to  hold  fast  by  the  Son- 
derbund ;  those  who  opposed  were  threatened  with  punish- 
ment in  life  or  property.  The  same  was  the  case  in  Valais 
and  Freiburg.  Zug  alone,  divided  in  herself,  began  to 
waver.  In  the  great-council  of  Lucerne,  only  seven  wor- 
thy men  dared  to  advise  loyalty  to  the  Confederacy.  With 
open  contempt  of  the  Diet,  the  government  here  continued 
its  military  preparations ;  the  frontiers  were,  by  degrees, 
entirely  closed  against  those  without.  Many,  favorable  to 
the  Confederacy,  again  fled  from  their  homes  before  the 
renewed  prosecutions.  The  friends  of  the  Sonderbund 
began  to  stir  in  the  other  cantons  also.  But  all  their  en- 
deavors to  provoke  confusion  and  disunion  were  vain. 
After  the  great-council  of  Zurich  first  declared  their  de- 
cision to  insist  on  the  fulfilment  of  the  Diet's  decrees  by 
force  of  arms  if  need  should  be,  one  canton  after  another 
of  the  majority  of  the  Confederacy  courageously  followed 
the  example.  St.  Grallen  was  the  last.  Here  the  priest- 
party  hoped,  even  at  the  last  moment,  to  give  a  turn  to 
affairs  by  a  rising  of  the  catholic  population.  But  dis- 
jointed attempts  at  so  unrighteous  an  enterprise  were 
speedily  put  down.  Then,  after  four  days  of  a  protracted, 
excited  and  memorable  session,  in  which  the  parties  mea- 
sured their  greatest  strength  against  each  other,  it  was 
decided  here  also :  that  the  way  of  conciliation  should  first 
be  tried ;  but,  if  this  proved  impracticable,  that  the  recu- 
sants should  be  brought  back  to  their  duty  by  force  of 
arms.  Thus  the  required  number  of  twelve  cantonal  votes 


1847.]  MESSENGERS  OF  PEACE.  379 

was  again  complete  ;  respecting  which  many  had  hitherto 
doubted.  But  the  nation  which  surrenders  in  the  hour  of 
danger  no  longer  deserves  to  exist. 

Now,  the  Diet  met  again  (18  Oct.).  They  were  still  dis- 
posed to  conciliation.  They  sent  some  of  their  own  mem- 
bers as  messengers  of  peace  to  all  the  seven  refractory 
cantons  to  move  the  hearts  of  the  rulers.  They  solemnly 
assured  the  people  in  a  proclamation:  "The  rights  and 
freedoms  inherited  from  your  fathers  shall  remain  unal- 
tered, your  faith  untouched.  The  Diet  desire  no  oppres- 
sion of  their  Confederate  brothers,  no  nullifying  of  cantonal 
sovereignty,  no  forced  change  in  the  present  Confederate 
compact.  But  the  existence  of  a  separate  league,  endan- 
gering the  welfare  of  the  whole,  can  never  be  allowed. 
Dissolve  it,  while  there  is  yet  time!"  (20  Oct.)  Vain 
efforts  I  As  the  deputies  of  the  seven  cantons  had  foretold : 
the  messengers  were  rejected  with  scorn ;  even  the  circu- 
lation of  the  proclamation  was  strictly,  forbidden.  Zug 
alone  listened  to  milder  counsels.  Her  deputy  to  the  Diet 
at  Berne  endeavored  to  restore  union.  So,  finally,  did 
Bale-city.  But  every  endeavor  failed  before  the  obstinacy 
of  the  Sonderbunders.  Now  that  all  attempts  at  reconcili- 
ation had  proved  fruitless,  the  assembly  of  the  Confederacy 
proceeded  to  serious  measures.  They  issued  an  order  for 
troops,  to  the  number  of,  50, 000  only  at  first,  to  secure  the 
peace  of  the  country  against  the  continued  military  prepa- 
rations of  the  Sonderbunders.  William  Henry  Dufour  of 
Geneva  was  chosen  by  themascommander-in-chief,  Frederic 
Frey-Herose  of  Aargau  as  chief  of  the  staff.  All  this  was 
violently  opposed  by  the  deputies  of  the  seven,  who  in- 
sisted that  it  was  a  commencement  of  hostilities.  But  the 
Diet  remained  firm  in  their  decision.  Then  rose  Bernard 
Meyer  of  Lucerne  in  behalf  of  the  Sonderbund-deputies, 
and  said:  "  The  moment  has  come  for  us  to  depart  from 
the  Diet."  Invoking  God's  name,  he  cast  upon  their  oppo- 
nents all  present  and  future  responsibility  for  coming  events. 
Then  the  seven  deputies  left  the  hall  of  session  and  the  city 
of  the  Confederacy  (29  Oct.).  The  bond  of  century-old 
fidelity  seemed  forever  broken.  But,  strong  in  their  good 
right,  the  other  deputies  continued  their  deliberations. 


380  THE   CONFEDERATE   ARMY.  [1847. 

On  the  fourth  of  November  it  was  solemnly  decreed  :  to 
dissolve  the  Sonderbund  by  force  of  arms.  A  proclama- 
tion announced  this  to  the  people  and  to  the  army.  Now, 
the  statesmen  had  done  their  part;  the  drawn  sword  must 
give  the  fatal  blow. 

In  the  mean  while,  grey-haired  Dufotir  had  already  be- 
gun to  assemble  his  force.  The  people,  with  ready  and 
earnest  minds,  left  their  firesides  to  range  themselves  under 
his  banner.  Bitter  though  the  task  might  be  to  march 
against  their  brothers  of  the  same  country,  each,  neverthe- 
less, answered  the  call  of  duty  with  determination.  Only 
in  the  bailiwicks  of  Aargau,  and  more  violently  in  some 
catholic  districts  of  St.  Gallen,  were  attempts  again  made 
to  resist.  But  the  insurrection  was  quickly  repressed. 
Even  Bale-city,  though  delaying,  now  sent  a  battery  to  the 
Confederate  army.  Inner- Appenzell,  on  the  other  hand, 
and  Neuchatel,  refused  all  participation,  and  declared  them- 
selves neutral.  Yet  the  government  of  Neuchatel  secretly 
granted  passage  through  her  territory  to  a  quantity  of  arms 
sent  by  France  and  intended  for  Freiburg.  They  were, 
however,  discovered  by  the  patriotic  mountaineers,  carried 
over  into  the  territory  of  Vaud  and  there  retained.  Some 
bold  Vaudois  then  seized  the  steamboat,  in  order  to  cruise 
upon  the  waters  of  the  lake  of  Neuchatel  and  prevent  any 
more  such  smuggling.  In  spite  of  the  refusal  of  these  can- 
tons, the  force  of  the  Confederates  quickly  swelled  to  more 
than  ninety  thousand  men,  who  were  formed  into  six 
divisions,  under  the  lead  of  officers  of  proved  experience. 
Two  hundred  and  sixty  pieces  of  heavy  artillery  were  at 
their  command.  The  speedy  preparations,  the  host  of  able 
officers,  the  spirit  of  discipline  which  prevailed  in  so  great 
an  army,  astonished  foreigners  doubtful  of  the  result. 

The  Sonderbunders" had  called  out  their  forces  even  ear- 
lier. Volunteers  and  deserters  from  the  other  cantons, 
foreign  officers  also,  among  them  even  the  Austrian  prince 
Schwarzenberg,  had  joined  them.  The  greater  part  of 
their  troops  were  filled  with  raging  enthusiasm.  The  blood- 
thirstiness  evinced  so  long  beforehand  by  the  self-styled 
avenging  corps  of  examining-judge  Amrnann,  was  horrible. 
All  means  were  employed  to  excite  fanaticism.  The  papal 


1847.]  GENERAL  DUPOUR.  881 

nuncio  himself  blessed  the  banners  of  those  going  to  the 
frontiers,  as  formerly,  before  the  fratricidal  war  of  Villmer- 
gen.  Jesuits  were  appointed  field-chaplains.  Blessed  am- 
ulets were  distributed  to  the  hordes  of  the  landsturm,  to 
protect  them  from  shot  and  sword,  and  preachers  from  the 
pulpits  assured  all  the  people  of  the  assistance  of  the  Virgin 
Mary  to  preserve  them  from  death  and  make  their  victory 
sure. 

Even  before  the  Confederate  army  was  fully  arrayed, 
blood  already  flowed.  On  the  same  day  that  the  proclama- 
tion for  the  armed  execution  of  the  Diet's  decree  was 
published  at  Berne,  the  outposts  of  the  Sonderbunders 
penetrated  over  the  heights  of  the  St.  Gotthard  into  the 
territory  of  Ticino.  Two  of  their  leaders  paid  for  their  te- 
merity with  their  lives. 

Dufour  delayed  the  onset  for  a  long  while.  Disposed  to 
carry  on  the  war  with  extreme  forbearance,  he  said  to  his 
soldiers  in  an  order  of  the  day  :  "  I  place  under  your  pro- 
tection, children,  women,  old  men,  and  the  ministers  of  the 
church.  You  must  come  from  this  conflict  victoriously, 
but  without  stain."  Then  he  surrounded  the  territories 
of  the  Sonderbund  with  an  immense  chain  of  troops,  closing 
every  exit.  The  recusants  were  to  be  brought  back  to 
their  duty  more  by  the  determination  displayed  in  the 
overpowering  force  than  by  bloody  violence.  The  soldiers 
shared  the  humane  disposition  of  their  general.  The  ad- 
vanced posts  handed  their  drinking-flasks  to  each  other 
over  the  boundary-lines. 

While  the  principal  force  of  the  Confederates  marched 
first  to  subdue  Freiburg,  the  Sonderbunders  began  the 
assault  from  Lucerne  upon  comparatively  unprotected  Aar- 
gau.  The  village  of  Kleindietwyl,  the  outer  post  in  the 
free-bailiwicks,  was  unexpectedly  surprised  by  them,  and 
the  advanced  guard  there,  forty  in  number,  taken  prison- 
ers and  carried  in  triumphal  procession  to  Lucerne  (10th 
Nov.).  This  success  encouraged  them  to  bolder  attempts. 
A  portion  of  the  people  of  the  free-bailiwicks  seemed  only 
to  await  a  favorable  moment  in  order  to  declare  openly  for 
the  cause  of  the  Sonderbund.  Salis-Soglio  therefore  made 
incursions  into  this  territory  at  two  separate  points  simul- 


382  ULRICH  OF  SALIS-SOGLIO.  [1847. 

taneously,  on  the  morning  of  12th  Nov.  One  body  of 
troops,  commanded  by  himself,  advanced  by  a  forced 
march,  over  Sins  and  Merenschwanden,  towards  Lunnern, 
where  the  Confederates  had  thrown  a  bridge  of  boats  across 
the  Reuss.  But  the  small  troop  of  Zurichers  stationed 
there  maintained  their  post  with  old  Swiss  valor.  They 
destroyed  the  bridge  under  a  storm  of  balls  and  compelled 
the  enemy,  three  times  their  number,  to  retreat.  No  bet- 
ter success  attended  the  other  expedition  under  colonel 
Elgger.  He  ascended  the  Lindenberg,  and  surprised  two 
Aargau  companies  at  dinner  in  Geltwyl.  But  these  also, 
quickly  falling  into  ranks  repelled  the  attack  after  a  hard 
fight;  so  that  the  Lucerners  fled  back  to  Hitzkircherthal, 
in  great  disorder.  On  the  same  day,  a  third  attack  wn< 
made  from  Beromunster  upon  Menzikon  and  Rein;tci 
But  the  Aargau-landwehr  opposed  the  invaders  with  sue. 
courage  and  vigor  that  the  latter  retreated  at  once.  Thu.- 
the  bloody  ventures  of  that  day  failed  everywhere. 

In  the  mean  while,  Dufour  had  directed  his  principal  force 
upon  Freiburg.  This  canton,  the  district  of  the  capital- 
city  especially,  is  strongly  fortified  by  nature  and  art,  and 
the  latter  was  secured  against  any  desperate  assault  on  the 
part  of  the  people.  The  Confederates,  therefore,  were  the 
more  astonished  at  being  allowed  to  enter  unopposed  by 
Staffis  and  Chatel  St.  Dennis  (10  Nov.).  Three  days  after- 
wards, the  city  was  closely  beleaguered.  Then  the  Con- 
federates demanded  its  surrender  (13  Nov.).  The  Freiburg 
state-council,  disappointed  in  their  expectations  of  aid  from 
Yalais  or  Lucerne,  requested  a  suspension  of  arms.  It  was 
granted  till  the  morning  of  the  next  day.  •  But  colonel 
Rilliet,  who  knew  nothing  of  this  agreement,  began  to 
storm  two  redoubts  with  a  body  of  fiery  Vaudois.  His  !•  ss 
in  killed  and  wounded  was  great ;  but  the  result  was  not 
decisive.  The  rest  of  the  army  passed  the  night  quietly  :i* 
their  watch-fires ;  then,  when  morning  broke,  prepared  r •. 
storm  the  city.  They  were  only  waiting  for  the  coin;- 
to  advance,  when  negotiators  appeared  on  the  part  of  tii« 
government,  humbly  announcing  their  wish  to  capitulate. 
The  convention  was  executed  in  the  head-quarters  at  Bel- 
faur  (14  Nov.) :  Freiburg  withdrew  from  the  Sonderbund, 


1847.]  FALL   OF   FREIBURG.  383 

and  the  city-gates  were  opened  to  the  Confederates.  When 
this  was  made  known,  the  Freiburg  troops  shouted  trea- 
son, and  dispersed  in  disorder.  The  landsturra  rushed 
raging  through  the  streets.  The  Jesuit-fathers,  however, 
protected  by  the  forethought  of  the  French  envoy,  were 
happily  enabled  to  escape,  though  much  wanton  injury  was 
done  to  their  deserted  palace.  But  tears  of  joy  flowed, 
when  the  prison- doors  were  opened  for  those  confined  on 
account  of  the  January-insurrection.  Soon,  while  the  city 
was  occupied  by  the  Confederates,  a  provisional  govern- 
ment was  formed,  all  the  old  magistrates  having  fled  to- 
gether. Composed  of  liberal  men,  it  proclaimed  the  rule 
of  moderation  and  justice,  and  banished  the  Jesuits,  as 
causers  of  all  this  trouble,  forever  from  the  canton. 

As  soon  as  Freiburg  had  fallen,  the  main  army  of  the 
Confederates  directed  its  march  upon  Lucerne  and  the 
Forest-cantons.  Here  the  governing  party  were  intoxicated 
by  a  triumph  which  the  men  of  Uri  and  Valais  had  just 
then  (18  Nov.)  obtained  at  the  St.  Gotthard  pass.  Favored 
by  the  mist,  they  penetrated  as  far  as  Airolo,  and,  surprising 
the  Ticinese  under  Luvini,  put  them  to  flight.  The  latter 
first  made  a  stand  on  the  Moesa,  entrenched  themselves 
and  called  on  the  Grisons  for  assistance.  But  the  conquer- 
ors, abstaining  from  further  pursuit,  were  satisfied  to  oc- 
cupy the  mountain-passes  of  St.  Gotthard  and  Furka. 
Notwithstanding  this  favorable  news,  great  dissension  pre- 
vailed among  the  people  of  Lucerne.  Many  citizens  who 
were  mistrusted,  were  disarmed,  and  all  assemblages  in  the 
streets  dispersed.  Many  of  the  necessaries  of  life  were  al- 
ready wanting.  All  desired  a  speedy  deliverance  from 
their  intolerable  condition. 

The  columns  of  the  Confederate  army  began  to  enter 
the  territories  of  the  Sonderbund  on  several  sides  :  through 
the  March  into  Schwyz,  through  the  bailiwick  of  Knonau 
into  Zug,  and  by  three  roads  into  the  canton  of  Lucerne. 
When  Zug  saw  herself  seriously  threatened,  she  hastily 
sent  messengers  to  Dufour  at  his  head-quarters  in  Aarau, 
in  order  to'  capitulate  and  declare  her  withdrawal  from 
the  Sonderbund  (21st  Nov.).  The  Confederates,  who  now 
advanced  peacefully  into  her  territory,  were  received  with 


884  BATTLE  OP  GISLIZQff.  [1847. 

joy.  But  Abyberg,  with  the  Schwyzers,  as  soon  as  he 
saw  the  pass  by  Arth  and  Groldau  thus  left  open,  hastily 
returned  to  the  defence  of  his  own  country  and  remained 
an  inactive  spectator  of  the  combats  which  followed. 

The  23d  of  November,  the  great  decisive  day,  dawned. 
Dufour  directed  his  chief  attack  against  the  Rothenberg 
and  the  fortifications  near  GKslikon,  the  key  of  Lucerne. 
Here  the  principal  force  of  the  Sonderbunders  was  arrayed. 
The  Confederate  brigadiers,  Isler  and  Bitter,  were  ordered 
to  turn  the  Rothenberg  from  the  side  of  the  lake  of  Zug. 
In  the  vicinity  of  Meyerskappel,  they  encountered  the 
troops  of  the  Urcantons,  advantageously  posted  on  the 
sheltered  rising  ground.  At  sight  of  the  advancing  Con- 
federates, the  mountaineers  knelt  and  told  their  beads,  then 
rushed  with  war-cries  to  the  fight.  The  Confederates  an- 
swered with  hearty  shouts.  Both  sides  fought  valiantly, 
and  the  combat  was  a  hot  one.  But  the  Confederates  suc- 
ceeded in  breaking  the  ranks  of  the  men  of  the  Urcantons. 
The  latter  retreated,  fighting,  behind  Udligenschwyl  to  the 
Kiemenberg,  where  they  formed  again  in  order  of  battle. 
Their  resistance  was  overcome  here  also,  and,  before  night- 
fall, the  victors  took  possession  of  the  heights. 

Ziegler's  division  had  advanced  at  the  same  time  from 
the  free-bailiwicks,  passing  the  Reuss  over  a  hastily-con- 
structed bridge  of  boats,  on  the  road  by  Honau,  up  the 
north  side  of  the  Rothenberg.  Here  and  on  the  hill-sides, 
a  warm  fight  immediately  took  place.  The  Sonderbund- 
ers retreated,  step  by  step,  to  Gislikon,  where  strong  forti- 
fications with  heavy  artillery  commanded  the  banks  of  the 
Reuss.  In  the  trenches  which  traversed  the  rising  ground, 
the  riflemen  of  Unterwalden  were  posted,  and  the  ridges 
of  the  hill  were  covered  with  masses  of  the  landsturm. 
The  advancing  battalions  of  the  Confederates,  under  Eg- 
loff,  Hausler,  Einsberg,  Benziger  and  Morf,  were  now  re- 
ceived with  a  terrible  fire  from  large  and  small  arms. 
Some  portions  soon  wavered,  and  the  Soloth urn-artillery, 
which  had  pushed  too  far  ahead,  was  compelled  to  give 
ground.  At  this  decisive  moment,  the  Bernese  howitzer- 
battery  sprang  forward  and  cast  death  and  destruction  into 
the  enemy's  ranks.  Colonel  Ziegler  ordered  a  bayonet 


1847.]  SURRENDER  OF   LUCERNE.  385 

charge  ;  with  him,  his  adjutant,  landammann  Siegfried  of 
Aargau,  dismounted  and  encouraged  the  troops  by  word 
.-Mid  example.  Like  lions  they  advanced.  Then  Salis- 
Soglio,  vanquished — it  was  nearly  half-past  four  in  the 
afternoon — abandoned  the  fortifications  of  Gislikon.  The 
Confederates  rushed,  storming,  into  them.  There  was 
lighting  on  the  hill,  however,  until  nightfall.  Near  a 
cliapel  dedicated  to  St.  Michael,  the  Unterwaldeners  fought 
with  praiseworthy  courage,  until  they  also  yielded  to  the 
fate  of  the  day. 

Now  confusion  prevailed,  and  a  general  fight  towards 
Lucerne  took  place.  When  the  defeated  troops,  covered 
with  dust  and  blood,  reached  the  city,  and  wagons  full 
of  wounded  and  dead  increased  the  terror,  Siegwart  hastil; 
entered  an  already  prepared  steamboat,  and  fled  during 
the  night  over  the  lake  of  the  four  cantons  to  Uri.  With 
him  were  the  other  members  of  the  Sonderbund  council 
of  war,  the  government,  the  Jesuits,  and  even  the  nuns  of 
EschenbacH  and  Mariahilf.  They  carried  with  them  the 
treasure  and  seals  of  the  state,  and  stores  of  grain.  Twenty 
land-yagers  served  as  a  guard  to  the  fugitives.  Salis- 
Soglio,  wounded,  also  escaped,  and  the  auxiliaries  from  the 
Urcantons,  with  depressed  spirits,  returned  home  that 
same  night.  But  the  city-council  of  Lucerne,  to  avert  se 
rious  injury  from  the  city,  sent  negotiators  to  Dufour. 
The  grey-haired  general  demanded  an  unconditional  sur- 
render, and  that  which  was  unavoidable  was  assented  to. 

On  the  next  morning,  the  almost  endless  train  of  victors 
entered  the  city  amid  thousand-voiced  acclamations  of  the 
people.  All  the  buildings  were  decorated  with  Confeder- 
ate flags.  With  those  Confederates  who  had  fought  on 
the  Kothenberg  were  already  united  that  portion  of  the 
army  which  had  passed  unopposed  through  the  valley  of 
Hitzkirch,  and  the  reserve  division  of  Bernese  under 
Ochsenbein.  The  latter  had  entered  the  canton  through 
Upper  Entlibuch,  fighting  their  way  step  by  step.  They 
had  encountered  a  slight  resistance  at  the  very  frontiers, 
near  Escholzmatt  (22d  Nov.);  one  still  more  serious  on 
the  day  after,  at  Schupfheim.  But  they  overcame  their 
opponents  everywhere  with  great  valor,  and  were  thus 
17  2l 


386  END  OF  THE  SONDERBUND.  [1847 

enabled  to  reach  the  common  object,  the  city,  at  the  same 
time  with  the  other  troops. 

Now,  only  the  Urcantons  and  Yalais  remained  to  bo 
subdued.  Unterwalden,  however,  capitulated  in  the  night 
of  25th  Nov.  Schwyz,  where  Keller's  brigad^  had  victo- 
riously entered  the  March,  on  the  26th ;  and  Jri,  also,  on 
the  same  day.  From  here,  the  l^ders  of  the  Sonderbund 
had  issued  fresh  calls  for  steadfast  perseverance ;  but  when 
they  saw  that  all  fell  away  from  them,  they  fled  over  the 
Furka  into  Yalais,  and  thence  into  Piedmont.  Then  Va- 
lais,  also,  had  neither  strength  nor  courage  to  hold  out. 
Rilliet-Constant  w<uj  Already  on  the  point  of  opening  hos- 
tilities from  Vaud,  when  petitions  for  an  agreement  were 
presented  (29th  Nov.).  As  at  Freiburg  and  Lucerne,  the 
government  fled  hence  also.  But  the  Confederate  troops 
were  received  with  joy. 

Thus  in  the  course  of  surprisingly  few  days,  the  Sonder- 
bund suddenly  came  to  an  end.  That  which  had  been 
proclaimed  before  Europe  as  the  rock  of  religion  and  of 
true  freedom,  collapsed  at  the  first  dash  of  the  waves,  like 
a  house  built  upon  the  sand.  Too  late  did  the  French 
envoy,  from  Neuchlitel,  whither  he  had  retired  with  the 
other  diplomatists  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  proffer 
foreign  assistance.  Too  late,  also,  did  the  same  envoy 
finally,  propose  to  mediate  between  the  Diet  and  the  coun- 
cil of  war  of  the  seven  cantons.  Siegwart  had  already 
fled  over  the  frontier  with  his  colleagues,  when  the  French 
messenger  went  to  seek  him.  But  the  Swiss  people,  full 
of  joyful  courage  as  never  before,  recognized  in  all  these 
events  the  intervention  of  a  higher  hand  for  the  salvation 
of  their  fatherland. 


1848.]  THE  JESUITS  BANISHED.  387 


CHAPTER  LXXXIII. 

THE   NEW   SWISS    CONFEDERATE-BOND. 
[A.  D.  1843.] 

GREAT  reforms  now  took  place  in  all  the  cantons  of  the 
former  Sonderbund.  The  feelings  of  the  people  were  sud- 
denly changed.  As  had  been  the  case  at  Freiburg,  so  also 
in  Lucerne,  a  provisional  government  was  formed  of  a 
committee  of  worthy  citizens.  Here,  as  there,  the  constitu- 
tion of  1830  was  restored  to  its  former  validity.  A  simi- 
lar revolution  tras  effected  in  Yalais.  Zug,  also,  and  the 
Ur  cantons  immediately  went  to  work  to  improve  the  order 
of  their  states.  Even  in  Uri,  where,  since  Tell's  time,  nc 
written  constitution  had  ever  existed,  one  was  now  drawn 
up  and  accepted  by  the  communes.  Men  favorable  to  the 
Confederacy  took  the  helm.  The  Jesuits  had  everywhere 
fled  on  the  entrance  of  the  Confederates ;  now  they  were 
forever  banished  from  Swiss  soil.  Men  tried  to  efface,  as 
far  as  possible,  by  means  of  improved  arrangements,  the 
marks  of  the  recent  doings  of  the  order  and  its  adherents. 
But  this  was  a  tedious  task  and  did  not  proceed  without 
encountering  much  opposition.  The  prosperity  of  many 
of  those  cantons  was  long  impeded.  Now  the  bad  man- 
agement of  the  former  governments  first  came  to  light. 
The  public  treasuries  stood  empty ;  charges,  before  un- 
known, oppressed  the  land.  These  were,  moreover,  greatly 
increased,  when  the  Confederacy  demanded  from  the  Son- 
derbund-districts  repayment  of  the  war-expenses,  amount- 
ing to  five  millions  (of  Swiss  francs).  Until  the  receipt  of 
the  first  instalment  and  of  security  for  the  others,*  the 
armed  occupation  was  to  continue.  All  this  caused  great 
embarrassment  to  the  new  governments.  Lucerne  insti- 
tuted judicial  suits  against  the  members  of  her  former 
council,  for  embezzlement  of  the  public  money,  and  con- 
fiscated the  estates  of  those  who  provoked  the  war.  Shortly 

*  The  laat  instalments  were  remitted  by  the  Federal  government  iu 
1852. 


388  COST  OF  THE  WAR.-  [1848 

afterwards  she  sought  a  doubtful  remedy  by  suppressing 
the  convents,  that  she  might  be  indemnified  by  their  prop- 
erty (13th  April,  1848);  and  the  people,  before  whose  veto 
the  decree  was  laid,  did  not  refuse  their  consent.  Still 
greater  were  the  necessities  of  Freiburg,  and  with  them  in- 
creased the  indignation  against  those  members  of  the  coun- 
cil who  had  voted  for  the  Sonderbund.  They  were  brought 
to  a  most  severe  account  in  discharging  the  war-expenses. 
Many  of  the  discontented  among  their  adherents  opposed 
this  violently,  and  disturbances  even  took  place,  which  had 
to  be  settled  by  Confederate  interference.  Yalais,  also,  laid 
almost  all  her  share  of  the  expenses  upon  those  who 
had  voted  for,  advised  and  preached  the  war.  The  con- 
vents of  St.  Bernard  and  St.  Maurice  were  especially  hard 
pressed,  and  the  monks  of  the  former  removed  their  prop- 
erty to  Sardinian  soil.  The  demands  of  the  Diet  were 
with  difficulty  fulfilled.  Before  the  coming  "of  spring, 
however,  the  last  of  the  army  of  occupation  were  enabled 
to  return  to  their  homes.  Neuchatel  and  Inner- Appenzell, 
which  had  refused  to  perform  their  duty  as  Confederates 
during  the  war,  were  only  freed  from  similar  occupation 
by  the  payment  of  a  heavy  fine  into  the  treasury  of  the 
Confederacy. 

While  past  offences  against  the  fatherland  bore  such  bit- 
ter fruits,  loyalty  to  the  fatherland,  on  the  contrary,  reaped 
great  glory.  The  returning  warriors  were  welcomed  by 
their  compatriots  as  men  who  had  saved  the  country  from 
a  great  danger,  and  the  names  of  the  fallen  were  perpetu- 
ated on  marble  monuments.  A  feeling  of  pride  in  her 
strength  inspirited  the  nation.  The  report  of  the  fall  of 
the  Sonderbund  stirred  all  Europe  also.  The  people  re- 
joiced. From  Germany,  France  and  Italy,  even  from 
more  distant  lands,  congratulations  poured  in,  and  large 
sums  for  the  support  of  the  wounded.  The  victory  of 
general  Dufour  and  his  army  was  the  signal  for  a  reawaken- 
ing of  the  spirit  of  liberty  throughout  the  whole  continent. 
But  the  opponents,  also,  were  not  silent.  Full  of  vexation 
that  the  interference  of  foreign  powers  had  been  prevented, 
they  did  not,  on  this  account,  give  up  their  already  lost 
cause.  Austria  readily  opened  an  asylum  for  the  fugitive 


1848.]  THREATS  FROM  ABROAD.  889 

Jesuits  and  Sonderbunders.  Pope  Pius  IX.,  in  whose 
hands  the  power  for  a  peaceful  settlement  had  shortly  be- 
fore lain,  overwhelmed  the  victors  with  complaints  and  re- 
proaches. But  the  doings  of  Switzerland  were  most  se- 
verely handled  in  the  French  chambers,  whence  the  count  of 
Montalembert,  with  the  rage  of  a  defeated  partisan,  fulmi- 
nated the  thunders  of  his  eloquence  against  the  conquerors. 
They  found  many  echoes  in  the  gazettes  of  the  courts  and 
clergy.  It  soon  became  evident  that  a  violent  storm  against 
the  rejuvenating  Confederacy  was  brewing  on  all  sides. 
This  was  especially  seen  to  be  the  case  when  the  long- 
entertained  desire  of  all  Swiss  patriots  drew  nearer  to  ful- 
filment :  the  desire  to  establish,  after  such  long  conflicts,  a 
new  and  internally  stronger  bond  in  the  place  of  that  re- 
cently sundered.  The  cabinets  of  the  princes  combined 
to  prevent  this,  and  in  notes  of  very  threatening  tone 
presented  their  protest  against  it.  "As,"  they  insisted, 
"we  have  guaranteed  the  covenant  of  1815,  therefore, 
without  our  consent  and  the  united  votes  of  all  the  twen- 
ty-two cantons,  no  alteration  shall  be  made  therein." 

When  the  Diet  received  these  messages,  conscious  of 
strength  and  moved  by  a  noble  sense  of  dignity,  they  an- 
swered :  "  We  are  the  vassals  of  no  foreign  power  ;  a  free 
people  must  frame  their  own  laws."  Then,  undisturbed 
by  the  threatenings  from  without,  they  formed  a  commis- 
sion from  the  deputies  of  all  the  cantons  to  draw  up  the 
new  bond  of  confederation,  and  these  immediately  began 
their  work  (16th  February).  , 

The  monarchs  would,  most  probably,  have  given  effect 
to  their  threats,  had  not  world-stirring  events  of  greater 
importance  intervened.  Paris  and  France  cast  off  their 
fetters  in  wild  insurrection.  King  Louis  Philippe  was 
driven  into  exile,  and  the  republic  again  took  the  place  of 
the  shattered  throne  (24th  February).  The  news  of  this 
sped  like  lightning  through  the  other  monarchies,  crashing 
and  kindling  as  it  went.  The  day  of  universal  destruction 
seemed  to  have  dawned,  to  light  the  way  for  incoming 
popular  freedom.  Every  mail  brought  astonishing  ac- 
counts of  bloody  street-fights  in  the  capital  cities,  of  the 
trembling  of  kings  and  their  concessions  to  their  subjects, 

2i* 


COMMOTION  OP  THE  NATIONS.  [1848 

of  war  and  cries  of  war  in  all  places  in  Germany  and 
Italy.  The  year  1848  is  marked  with  brazen  pen  upon 
history's  tablet  of  memorabilia.  But  while  the  world- 
Storm  thus  raged,  Switzerland  stood  like  an  island  of  peace 
amid  the  roaring  waves.  She  did  not,  however,  remain 
entirely  unmoved  by  their  mighty  influences.  Neuchatel, 
especially,  felt  them. 

Here,  the  valiant  mountaineers  had  long  unwillingly 
endured  their  condition :  having  the  distant  king  of  Prus- 
sia for  their  prince,  and  not  being  independent,  like  the 
rest  of  the  Swiss.  Especially  were  they  indignant  that,  in 
the  time  of  the  Sonderbund-war,  the  high-council  of  the 
state,  yielding  to  the  wishes  of  the  king,  had  renounced 
their  uuty  to  the  Confederacy.  Therefore,  when  the  call 
to  freedom  sounded  from  France,  they  felt  that  the  right 
moment  had  come  for  them  also  to  shake  off  the  hated 
yoke.  The  insurrection  began  at  La  Chaux-de-fonds,  by 
the  rescue  of  some  men  of  Swiss  sentiments,  who  had  been 
imprisoned  by  the  police  (27th  February).  Encouraged 
by  this  success,  crowds  of  people,  on  the  next  day,  sum- 
moned the  unpopular  communal  council  to  abdicate.  When 
the  latter  refused,  the  people  called  to  arms;  the  council- 
hall  was  stormed  :  now  the  Swiss-cross  banner  floated  high, 
where  before  the  Prussian  eagle  had  his  stand.  Simul- 
taneously, the  citizens  of  Locle  rose,  and  the  valley-districts 
of  Travers  and  Les  Brenets  joined  them.  A  committee  of 
enterprising  men  was  at  the  head  of  all.  The  valley  of 
La  Sagne,  favorable  to  the  kingly  rule,  was  entered,  and 
the  inhabitants  disarmed.  All  this  terrified  the  state-coun- 
cil of  Neuchatel,  and  they  sent  the  lord-chamberlain  with 
proposals  for  accommodation.  But  in  vain.  The  govern- 
ment, in  haste,  called  upon  the  citizen-troops  of  the  capital 
to  defend  the  castle  and  council-hall.  But  the  men  of  the 
Jura  were  already  advancing  in  three  bodies  from  different 
sides.  Then,  reduced  to  extremity,  and  without  hope  of 
protection,  as  the  troops  manifested  little  zeal  in  their  cause, 
the  government  abdicated  their  offices,  but  with  reservation 
of  the  royal  rights.  On  the  evening  of  the  same  day  (1st 
March),  the  republicans,  eighteen  hundred  strong,  without 
Stroke  of  sword,  entered  the  city.  Here,  a  provisional  gov- 


18*8.]  NEUCHATEL  A  REPUBLIC.  391 

ernment  was  instituted,  and,  by  this,  the  discontinuance  of 
the  princely  rule  solemnly  proclaimed.  Soon,  deputies 
came  from  almost  all  the  communes  with  assurances  of 
joyful  acquiescence.  The  vorort  Berne,  also,  which  had 
sent  commissioners  on  the  outbreak  of  the  insurrection, 
recognized  the  new  order  of  things,  and  replied  to  the 
Prussian  envoy,  von  Sydow,  when  he  presented  a  protest 
in  the  name  of  his  master:  "Switzerland  acknowledges  no 
covenant  with  any  prince  of  Neuchatel.  That  canton  en- 
tered the  Confederacy  equal  in  rights  with  all  the  others, 
and  we  cannot  oppose  her  when  she  changes  her  govern- 
ment to  suit  herself."  Thus  matters  remained.  A  repub- 
lican constitution  was  now  drawn  up  and  accepted  by  the 
people  (30th  April).  But  many  of  those  who  had  hitherto 
basked  in  the  sunshine  of  royal  favor,  still  bore  ill-will  to 
the  new  Swiss  rule,  and  did  not  lose  their  hopes  of  return- 
ing once  more  under  the  sceptre  of  the  prince,  in  more  fa- 
vorable times. 

With  firmness  equal  to  that  displayed  in  their  answer 
to  Prussia,  did  the  Diet  reject  a  request  shortly  afterwards 
made  to  them  by  Sardinia.  The  king  of  this  country, 
Charles  Albert,  had  declared  for  the  Lombard  party  which 
stood  in  open  insurrection  against  the  supremacy  of  Aus- 
tria, and  wished  to  strengthen  his  power  by  an  offensive 
and  defensive  alliance  with  the  Confederates.  There  were 
many  among  the  latter,  especially  in  those  districts  where 
French  and  Italian  are  spoken,  who,  enthusiastic  for  popu- 
lar liberty,  shouted  approval  of  such  a  proposition.  But 
far  more  said:  "Why  should  we  mix  in  foreign  disputes 
and  bind  the  fortunes  of  our  fatherland  to  those  of  other 
states?  Switzerland  has  always  fared  badly  when  she 
served  others.  The  highest  duty  of  every  people  is  inva- 
riably towards  their  own  welfare  and  independence."  And 
the  Diet,  without  delay,  declared:  "That  Switzerland 
would  favor  no  one  and  injure  no  one,  but  remain  strictly 
impartial  in  the  disturbances  of  Europe."  (18th  April.) 
There  were  some,  nevertheless,  who,  desirous  of  combat, 
hastened  across  the  Alps,  on  their  own  responsibility,  to 
the  Lombard  battle-fields ;  the  greater  portion,  however, 
disappointed  in  their  expectations,  returned  home  at  once. 


392  CONFLICTS  IN  ITALY.  [1848. 

The  name  of  the  Confederates  was  far  otherwise  noto- 
rious in  the  Italian  combats  of  those  days.  This  was  espe- 
cially the  case  when  the  Swiss  hirelings,  in  the  service  of 
Ferdinand,  king  of  Naples,  contended  in  terrible  street- 
fights  with  the  insurgent  populace  of  his  capital-city  (loth 
April).  Their  death-despising  valor  did  indeed  win  the 
victory ;  but  it  was  a  victory  for  royal  power  against  the 
rights  of  the  people.  Therefore  a  cry  of  imprecation 
against  these  degenerate  sons  of  Helvetia  rose  throughout 
the  whole  peninsula,  and,  in  their  own  fatherland,  the  pop- 
ular voice  loudly  demanded  the  abrogation  of  the  ancient 
unworthy  capitulation.  More  honor,  on  the  other  hand, 
fell  to  the  lot  of  those  Swiss  troops  who,  in  the  pay  of  the 
papal  government,  fought  against  Austria  at  Vicenza  (10th 
June).  The  valor  of  these  heroes,  who  bore  unwavering 
the  storm  of  balls  from  a  force  four  times  their  superior, 
recalled  the  deathless  deeds  of  their  ancestors.  When,  in 
spite  of  their  efforts,  the  papal  general  Durando  surren- 
dered the  city,  the  enemies  themselves  praised  the  courage 
of  the  Swiss  lions  and  carefully  nursed  their  wounds. 

Soon  afterwards,  the  fortune  of  war  changed  entirely  in 
upper  Italy,  and  Austria's  field -marshal,  grey-haired  Ra- 
detzky,  returned  to  Milan  as  conqueror.  The  resistance 
of  individual  adventurers  was  prolonged  as  far  as  the  bor- 
ders of  Orisons  and  Ticino.  At  the  same  time,  a  great 
host  of  Lombard  fugitives  swarmed  into  those  cantons. 
The  Diet  immediately  ordered  out  troops  to  protect  the 
soil  of  the  fatherland.  The  same  thing  had  already  taken 
place  on  the  Rhine,  when  an  insurrection  of  republicans 
occurred  in  the  highlands  of  Baden,  under  Hecker  (last  of 
April).  There  also  the  unsupported  rising  failed,  and 
many  of  the  fugitives  sought  refuge  in  the  northern  can- 
tons. Their  incessant  endeavors  to  rekindle  the  war  from 
their  post  of  safety  at  last  involved  the  Swiss  magistrates 
in  a  long  interchange  of  notes  with  the  German  govern- 
ments.  In  this  case,  also,  the  dignity  of  the  Confederacy 
was  firmly  and  boldly  maintained. 

Thus,  in  spite  of  all  attacks,  internal  peace  remained  un- 
disturbed during  all  the  bloody  commotions  of  the  nations, 
and  the  commission  of  the  Diet  quietly  elaborated  the  new 


1848.]  THE  NATIONAL  CONSTITUTION.  393 

bond  of  confederation.  When  they  had  completed  their 
work,  the  great  councils  of  the  cantons  met  to  deliberate 
upon  it.  Much  was  said  for  and  against  it  everywhere, 
but  over  this  difference  of  opinion  prevailed  the  unanimous 
desire  to  establish  a  foundation  on  which  internal  wel- 
fare and  external  independence  might  rest  forever  secure. 
After  the  cantons  had  uttered  their  opinions,  the  Diet 
again  met  to  give  the  finishing  hand  to  the  great  work 
(loth  May  to  17th  June).  Thus  was  produced  the  new 
national  constitution,  the  first  which  had  been  formed  by 
the  Swiss  alone  and  without  foreign  intervention  since  the 
destruction  of  the  old  Confederacy  in  1798,  and  which 
united  the  twenty-two  free  commonwealths  into  a  nation 
of  brothers.  Concluded  in  the  name  of  Almighty  God,  it 
was  then  laid  before  the  people  for  their  acceptance  or  re- 
jection. In  the  days  of  August,  the  citizens,  assembled  in 
their  primary  communal  meetings  in  the  cantons  of  Ge- 
neva, Berne,  Zurich,  Solothurn,  Bale,  Glarus,  Lucerne, 
Aargau,  St.  Gallen,  Schaffhausen,  Thurgau,  Grisons,  Outer- 
Appenzell,  Vaud  and  Neuchatel,  at  once,  with  overwhelm- 
ing majorities  and  joyous  approval,  declared  their  accept- 
ance. The  great  council  of  Freiburg  did  the  same  in  the 
name  of  her  people.  Only  in  a  part  of  the  former  Sonder- 
bund-cantons:  in  Zug,  Uri,  Schywz,  Unterwalden  and 
Valais,  as  well  as  in  Inner-Appenzell,  did  the  councils  and 
communes  vote  for  rejection.  Here  the  shortly-before  dis- 
pirited party  had  again,  since  Austria's  victory  over  Sar- 
dinia, raised  their  heads  boldly,  and  hoped  for  a  change  in 
their  own  fatherland.  Zealous  priests  had  again  attempted 
to  foment  disturbance  by  awakening  anxiety  for  religion. 
Ticino  wished  to  make  some  stipulations  respecting  the 
pecuniary  loss  she  feared  from  the  surrender  of  her  tolls, 
and  therefore  voted  to  reject;  but  at  the  same  time  de- 
clared her  willingness  to  accept  the  decision  of  the  ma- 
jority, for  the  welfare  of  the  common  fatherland.  As  a 
majority  of  fifteen  cantons  and  one  half,  with  a  population 
of  1,897,887  souls,  had  voted  to  accept,  and  a  minority  of 
only  six  cantons  and  one  half,  with  a  population  of  292,371 
souls,  had  voted  to  reject,  the  Diet,  in  solemn  session  (12th 
September),  declared  the  new  Swiss  constitution  to  be  in 
17* 


394  CONCLUSION.  [1848. 

force.  The  tidings  were  immediately  promulgated  by  mes- 
sengers and  telegraphs,  and,  on  that  very  evening,  innume- 
rable bonfires  blazed  on  the  mountain-tops  from  the  Dole 
to  the  Santis,  while  the  rejoicings  of  all  the  people  re- 
sounded from  the  valleys.  Never  had  Switzerland  seen  a 
day  of  more  beautiful  fraternization  since  the  commence- 
ment of  her  history. 

Thus  have  the  feeling  of  common  citizenship  and  love  for 
the  fatherland  refortified  the  liberty  which  our  fathers  won 
with  their  hearts'  blood  at  Sempach  and  Grandson.  Hel- 
vetia stands  again,  more  nobly  than  ever,  the  rock  of  free- 
dom among  the  nations.  But  the  happiness  of  no  people 
can  continue  steadfast  on  the  earth,  if  trust  in  God  and 
brotherly  love  be  not  its  guardian  angels.  The  enemy  of 
Swiss  independence  still  prowls  about  like  a  roaring  lion, 
and  awaits  the  moment  when  he  can  destroy  it.  Be  watch- 
ful therefore,  O  Confederates;  hold  unchangeably  true  to 
each  other,  and  forget  not  God ;  so  will  He  not  forget  you 
in  the  hour  of  conflict. 


THE    END. 


395 


INDEX, 


Aargau,  subject  to  Habsburg — Aus- 
tria, 26,  45,  76;  conquered  by  the 
Confederates,  77  ;  a  canton,  272  ;  a 
Confederate,  280  ;  arms  for  indepen- 
dence, 286 ;  liberal  constitution,  296  ; 
religious  difficulties,  convents  sup- 
pressed, 338-341  ;  votes  the  expul- 
sion of  the  Jesuits,  857  ;  national 
constitution,  393. 

Abacker,  Anthony,  138. 

Abandonment  of  principle,  78. 

Abyberg,  Theodore,  of  Schwyz,  328- 
884. 

Ackermann  of  Unterwalden,  202. 

Act  of  Mediation,  Napoleon's,  279 :  an- 
nulled, 285. 

Adnm  the  Camogaster,  84. 

Adolf  of  Nassau,  36. 

Agnes  of  Hungary,  43. 

Albert  of  Austria,  emperor,  36  ;  assas- 
sination, 43. 

Allemanui  The,  subdue  Helvetia,  14 ; 
vanquished  by  the  Franks,  16. 

Allemannia,  Dukes  of,  17. 

Allied  cantons  and  cities,  126. 

Allobroges,  The,  7. 

Alps,  The,  1. 

Am  Buel,  Matthias,  64. 

Ammann,  Examining  judge,  871,  372- 
880. 

Am  Stalden,  Peter,  116. 

Amstein,  John,  57. 

Anabaptists,  The,  135. 

Ancient  noble  families,  27. 

Ancient  traditions,  5. 

Appenzell,  foundation  of,  82  ;  heroic 
deed*,  independence  and  league  with 
Confederates,  67-73  ;  a  Confederate, 
125  ;  religious  division,  135  ;  separa- 
tion into  Inner  and  Outer-rhodes, 
155, 156,  244  ;  canton  of  Santis,  272 ; 
national  constitution,  898. 

Armagnacs,  The,  96. 

Arnold  of  Cervola,  56. 

Augusta  Rauracorum,  11. 

Augustus  the  emperor,  9,  10. 


Aulus  Cecina,  11. 

Austria,  Dukes  of;  counts  of  Habs- 
burg, great  possessions,  26  ;  designs 
upon  the  Confederates,  37  ;  defeated 
at  Morgarten,  44-54  ;  Sempach,  61  ; 
by  Appenzell,  71,  72  ;  peace,  78  ; 
lose  Aargau,  76-78,  91-98;  Thursrau 
also,  104;  Treaty,  113;  war  with 
Grisous  and  Confederates,  122-125, 
167-175  ;  threaten,  295  ;  protest,  341. 

Aventicum,  11 ;  destroyed,  14. 

Aymar,  French  general,  330. 

Baden,  11,  77,  201. 

Canton  of,  272,  280. 

Capuchins  at,  339. 

conference,  320-325. 


Bailiwicks,  see  Common  and  Italian. 
Baldiron,  Austrian  general,  165-168. 
Bale,  23-28  ;  independence,  29,  97  ;  a 

Confederate,   125;    protestant,  134; 

reforms,  193  ;  civil  war,  division  into 

Bale-city  and  Bale-country.  297-300. 
Bale,  Bishopric  of,  252 ;   annexed  to 

Berne,  288. 
Bishops  of,  158,  176,  210,  252, 

252,  253. 
Bale-city,  800 ;  Sarnen-league,  302,  805, 

806  ;  national  constitution,  393. 
Bale-country,  300,  305,  316,  317,  336  ; 

national  constitution,  393. 
Balthazar,  Felix,  of  Lucerne,  243. 
Urs, 237. 


Bannerets  of  Berne.  225. 

Barmann,  Maurice,  of  Valais,  354. 

Baselga,  Caspar,  161. 

Battle  of  Airolo,  388  ;  Arbedo,  82  ; 
Arth,  273  ;  Bibracte,  8  ;  Bicocca, 
180  ;  Boetzberg,  12  ;  Brolla-bridge, 
846  ;  Bruderholz,  125  ;  Bnttisholz, 
56;  Donnerbuhl,  37  ;  Dornach,  125; 
Emme,  361,  365  ;  Ezel,  91  ;  Frastenz, 
124;  Fraubrunnen,  57;  Gelterkin- 
den,  299  ;  Geltwvl,  882  ;  Giornico, 
115  ;  Gislikon,  385  ;  Grandson,  109  ; 
Grauholz,  271  ;  Gubel,  mount,  142  ; 


396 


INDEX. 


Hanptlisberge,  71  ;  Herzogenbuch- 
see,  187 :  Hessingen,  100 ;  Hutten, 
202;  Ins,  37;  Ki.ppel,  141  ;  Kuss- 
naclit,  52  ;  Lake  Lenian,  4  ;  Laupen, 
48 ;  Liestal,  298,  29i> ;  Luunera, 
382  ;  Li.izienstei«:,  123  ;  Malserhaide, 
124;  Malters,  366;  Marignano,  130; 
Morat,  111 ;  Morgarten,  44;  Nafel*, 
64;  Nancy,  112  ;  Neuenegg,  271  ; 
Novara,  130  ;  Oehrli,  305  ;  Pavia, 
130  ;  Prattelen,  96  ;  Ragatz,  98  ; 
Raschnals,  168  ;  Rotheuberg,  884  ; 
St.  Gervais,  374 ;  St.  Jacques,  97  ; 
St.  James,  93 ;  St.  John's,  123  ; 
Schindellegi,  273  :  Schwaderlochs, 
123 ;  Sempach,  61 ;  Sins,  202 ;  the 
Stoss,  71 ;  Tatwyl,  52  ;  Tenero,  346 ; 
Tirano,  165;  Tre'isen,  123;  Ulrichen, 
81 ;  Vicenzu,  392  ;  Villmergen,  191, 
203  :  Voglinseck,  69  ;  Weidikon,  94 ; 
Wolfshalde,  72  ;  Wollran,  273. 

Battles  in  the  Grison  bailiwicks,  172. 

Lombardy,  129,  130,  391. 

• Nidwalden,  276. 

of  the  French  and  Austrians,  277. 

Battle-fields,  Foreign,  151,  154. 

Baumgartner  of  St.  Gallen,  342. 

Beccaria,  149. 

Beda,  the  wise  abbot  of  St.  Gallen,  263. 

Beeli,  George,  160,  161. 

Belet,  Vicar,  325. 

Bellinzona,  81 ;  canton  of,  272 ;  canton 
of  Ticino,  280. 

Berne,  23 ;  defeats  the  nobles,  37,  48 ; 
a  Confederate,  54 ;  increase  of  terri- 
tory, 55 ;  reforms,  58,  59  ;  ambition, 
75 ;  conquests  in  Aargau,  76 ;  quar- 
rel between  nobles  and  commons, 
106;  protestant,  134;  conquests  in 
Vaud,  147  ;  revolt  of  subjects,  179, 
181-189;  defeated  by  the  catholic 
cantons,  191 ;  superiority  in  arms, 
197-204 ;  Henzi's  conspiracy,  225- 
229;  dispute  with  Vaud,  254";  taken 
by  the  French,  271  ;  loses  Aargau 
and  Vaud,  272  ;  bishopric  of  Bale 
annexed,  288 ;  liberal  constitution, 
294-296  ;  quarrel  with  Germany, 
314,  315;  religious  disturbances,  324; 
false  step,  325 ;  commotion  and  new 
constitution,  368,  369 ;  national  con- 
stitution, 393. 

Bero.  Count,  20. 

Beroldingen,  Hector  of,  159. 

John  Conrad,  166. 

Berthelier,  of  Geneva,  145-147. 

Bienne,  158,  159,  288. 

Bishoprics,  Ancient,  18. 

Black  Death,  The,  159. 


Blnnschli,  councillor  of  Zurich,  350. 

Blasius,  John,  134. 

Blenler-Zeiler,  of  Zurich,  332. 

Blood-thirsty  justice,  118. 

Bodmer  of  Zurich,  198. 

treasurer  of  Stafa,  267,  271.  • 

Bois  le  Comte,  377. 

Bombelles,  Count,  Austrian  envoy,  315. 

Bonnivard,  prior  of  St.  Victor,  the 
prisoner  of  Chillon,  146. 

Booty,  Immense,  at  Grandson,  110. 

Borelli,  Count,  114. 

Boraiio,  Grison  bailiwick,  129,  162; 
Cisalpine  republic,  269 ;  annexed  to 
Austria,  288. 

Borromean  League,  153. 

Borromeo,  Cardinal  Charles,  hia  vir- 
tues and  influence,  151-153. 

Bossi,  bishop  of  Coire,  826. 

Brandenburg.  The  elector  of,  54. 

Brandis,  LoMs  of,  123. 

Brantschen,  Thomas,  the  lion  of  Valais, 
81. 

Breitenlandenberg,Hans  of,the  Savage, 
94. 

Brettigauers,  The,  163,  168,  1C9. 

Brommer,  Secretary,  188. 

Bruchenburen,  The,  5,  30. 

Bragg,  destroyed  by  the  nobles,  95. 

Bran,  .Rudolf,  of  Zurich,  49,  50. 

Brune,  French  general,  270. 

Bubenberg,  John  of,  47,  48. 

Henry,  98. 

Adrian,  110. 


Bu<rle-call,  307. 

Bullinger,  Pastor  Henry,  138. 

Bnrgisser,  Leodegar,  abbot  of  St.  Gal- 
len, 196-203. 

Burgler.  Henry,  of  Obwalden,  116. 

Burgundians,  The,  subject  Vaud  and 
Valais,  14;  lose  their  power,  16. 

Burgundy,  Dukes  of,  22. 

—  Little,  17. 

Upper,  112. 

Caddean  league  of  Rhetia,  86. 

Calendar,  Dispute  about  the,  158. 

Calvin,  John,  147,  149. 

Camogast,  Adam  of,  84. 

Campbbasso,  Count  Cola,  112. 

Cantonalism,  90. 

Capitulations  with  foreign  princes,  102, 

129, 150;  abrogation  demanded,  892. 
Caraccioli,  papal  nuncio,  204. 
Castelberg,  Sebastian  of,  abbot  of  Dls- 

cutis,  166. 

Castellaz  of  Greyerz,  248,  249. 
Catholic  cantons,  135,188, 191;  197-204. 
unions,  321. 


897 


Celestin,  abbot  of  Einsiedeln,  321. 

Celier,  burgomaster  of  Neu^tadt,  212. 

Censorship  of  the  press,  235. 

Chaldar  John,  85. 

Charlemagne  and  his  successors.  21 ,  22. 

Charles  the  Bold,  duke  of  Burgundy, 
107-112. 

Charles  X.  of  France,  293. 

Charles  Albert  of  Sardinia,  391. 

Chateauneuf,  French  envoy,  260. 

Chenaur,  Peter  Nicholas,  of  Freiburg, 
248;  his  death,  249. 

Chiavenna,  Grison  bailiwick,  129,  162, 
165 ;  Cisalpine  republic,  269 ;  an- 
nexed to  Austria,  288. 

Christianity,  its  introduction  and  bene- 
ficial effects,  18-21. 

Church-dispute  in  Vand,  369-371. 

Church-question,  133,  passim. 

Cihino,  Destruction  of,  163. 

Cisalpine  republic,  269. 

Cities  are  walled  and  organized,  24 ; 
increase  in  franchises  and  power, 
29  ;  league  with  each  other,  30. 

Clergy,  Fanaticism  of  the,  161. 

Coeuvres,  Count  of,  170. 

Coire,  Bishops  of,  33,  83,  85,  168. 

City  of,  33,  83. 

Columban,  19. 

Comander,  John,  134. 

Committee  of  faith  in  Zurich,  332  to 
335. 

• in  Lucerne,  344. 

The  Bunzner,  of  Aargau, 

338,  339. 

Common  bailiwicks,  Aargau,  76;  Thur- 
gau,  108 ;  Rheinthal,  121 ;  partly  pro- 
testant,  135  ;  form  cantons,  272. 

Commotion  of  the  nations,  390. 

Communes  on  the  lake  of  Zurich,  re- 
volt and  are  subdued,  265-267. 

Compact,  nature  of  the,  126;  of  1815, 
288,  289,292;  new,  rejected,  304;  of 
the  liberal  cantons,  301. 

Confederates,  The  original,  expel  the 
Austrian  bailiff,  42 ;  defeat  Austria 
aft  Morgarten,  44  :  assist  Berne,  47 ; 
occupy  Glarus,  52,  and  Zug,  53 ;  Con- 
federacy of  eight  cantons,  54; 
strength,  increase  of  territory,  jus- 
tice, 55-56 ;  victorious  at  Sempach, 
61 :  in  numerous  battles,  65 ;  peace 
and  its  fruits,  66  ;  conquer  Aargau 
and  establish  common  bailiwicks, 
abandon  principle,  78  to  78:  in- 
vade Valais,  80 ;  become  proud,  89  ; 
war  against  Zurich,  barbarity,  92  to 
95 ;  heroes'  death  at  St.  Jacques,  97  ; 
first  treaties  with  France  and  Milan, 


102;  conquer  Tluirguu,  103;  war 
with  Burgundy,  108  to  112;  treaty 
with  Austria,  113;  military  pride, 
arrogance,  114;  petty  Wars,  118; 
bad  blood,  121  ;  refuse  to  become  a 
circle  of  the  German  empire,  122; 
defeat  the  Austrians  and  Suabians, 
123-124;  Confederacy  of  thirteen 
cantons,  125;  serfdom  of  the 
people,  126 ;  demoralized,  debased 
by  love  of  money,  128;  mercenary 
wars,  129  ;  Italian  bailiwicks,  130  ; 
disputes,  wars,  and  consequent 
alienation  between  protestants  and 
catholics,  134,  pas-sim  ;  subserviency 
to  foreign  envoys,  178 ;  indepen- 
dence recognized,  180;  arbitrary 
rule,  181 ;  insurrection  of  the  sub- 
jects, 186-188  ;  religious  civil  wars, 
190-192,  197-204:  reciprocal  dis- 
trust, 205  :  general  corruption,  233- 
236;  weakened  by  division,  254; 
universal  confusion,  270  ;  conquered 
by  the_  French,  and  all  Swiss  mode 
equal  in  the  Helvetian  republic,  271- 
274  ;  Confederacy  of  nineteen  can- 
tons, 280 ;  intrigues  of  the  nobles, 
restoration  of  servitude,  quarrels 
and  conflicts,  Confederacy  of  twenty- 
two  cantons,  285-288 ;  cantoualism, 
familism  and  favoritism,  292;  peace- 
ful revolutions,  commotions,  293- 
300;  energetic  measures,  firmness 
and  moderation,  805,  806 ;  threats 
from  abroad,  313;  education  and  skill 
in  arms  encouraged,  316  ;  blockade, 
319  ;  martial  enthusiasm,  380;  quar 
rels  and  disputes,  question  ap 
parently  religious,  but  really  politi- 
cal, 336-350  ;  the  Sonderbund,  851 ; 
civil  war,  876-886;  dignity  pro 
served,  892;  national  constitution, 
898  ;  universal  rejoicing,  894. 

Congress  of  Vienna,  287. 

Conseil,  Case  of,  318,  319. 

Conspiracy  of  the  nobles  of  Lucerne, 
45. 

Constance  purchases  peace,  102. 

Conto,  Slide  of  mount,  163. 

Convention  of  Sempach,  65. 

Waldmann,  120. 


Convents  suppressed  in  Aargau,  340, 
341. 

in  Lucerne,  888. 


Council  of  Constance,  74. 
Covenant  of  Stanz,  117. 
Crivelli  of  Uri.  201. 
Crusades,  The,  28. 
Curten,  Fetor  of,  854. 


398 


INDEX. 


Cuttat,  priest  of  Pruntrut,  325. 

Cymbri,  The,  overrun  Gaul,  are  joined 
by  Helvetians,  defeated  by  the  Ko- 
inans,  find  refuge  in  Helvetia,  4,  5. 

Dagobert,  16. 

Demoralization  of  the  Swiss,  127. 

Diesbach,  Nicholas  of,  170. 

•Diplomatic  notes,  313. 

Disregard  of  the  Bond,  236. 

Divikon,  leader  of  the  Tigurins,  4-7. 

Dolder,  landammann  of  Switzerland. 

278. 

Dominicans,  The,  132. 
Dorrenberg,  Peter  of,  57. 
Druey,  Henry,  of  Vaud,  363,  370. 
Ducrest,  Michael,  227,  257. 
Dufour,  William   Henry,  of  Geneva, 

Confederate-general,  379-386. 
Durando,  papal-general,  392. 
Du  Terrell,  159. 

Early  Christian  teachers,  19. 
Einsiedelu,  Convent   of,  20,   81,   176, 

290,  327. 

Emanuel  Philibert,  duke  of  Savoy,  151. 
Enderli,  Thnring,  168. 
Enemy  of  Switzerland,  The  real,  308. 
Engadine,  122,  161,  163,  169,  174. 
Engelberg,  Convent  of,  3. 

Abbot,  187. 

English  envoy  assassinated,  207. 
Enlistment    for   foreign  service,   101, 

113,  118,  127-130,  154,  290. 
Entlibuchers.  The,  56. 
Erlach,  Ulrich  of,  37. 

,  Rudolf  of,  47,  48. 

,  Sigismund  of,  18C-188. 

Eseher,  stadtholder  of  Zurich,  223. 
Escalade  of  Geneva,  157. 
Evangelical  preachers,  134. 
Evangelicals  expelled  from  Arth,  190. 
Execution  on  the  wheel,  43. 
Extinction  of  patriotism,  235. 

Falkensteiu,  Thomas  of,  95. 

,  John  of,  98. 

Familism  and  favoritism,  292. 
Farel,  Nicholas,  134. 

,  William,  147. 

Fatherland,  The,  309. 
Fatio,  John,  of  Bale,  193,  194. 
Fazy,  James,  of  Geneva,  373,  374. 
Federal  constitution,  393. 
Felber,  Major,  199  ;  death,  200. 
Ferdinand  of  Austria,  emperor,  815. 

Naples,  392. 

Feria,  Duke  of,  167. 
Feudal  organization,  17. 


Finningers,  The,  of  Muhlhauscn,  154. 

First  settlers,  2. 

Fischingen,  The  abbot  of,  176. 

Florin,  Colonel,  172. 

Flugi,  John,  bishop  of  Coire,  162. 

Fontana,  Benedict,  124. 

Francis  I.  of  France,  130. 

Franks,  The,  vanquish  the  Alleinaimi, 
Burgundians,  and  Goths,  and  organ- 
ize the  country  feudally,  1(5,  17. 

Fratricide  on  the  Trient,  356. 

Frederick  of  Austria,  74. 

Frederick  the  Great,  238-240. 

Frederick  William  of  Prussia,  297,  371. 

Free-corps  expeditions  against  Lu- 
cerne, first  fails  from  irresolution, 
860,  361 ;  second  organized  in  other 
cantons,  totally  defeated,  prisoners 
ransomed  by  their  governments, 
864-367. 

Freedom's  New  Year,  42. 

Freiburg,  23  ;  falls  into  the  power  of 
Savoy,  101  ;  independuet,  114 ;  a 
Confederate,  117  ;  divided  in  reli- 
gion, 135  ;  increase  of  territory,  147, 
148  ;  disturbances  and  insurrections, 
247-251 ;  taken  by  the  French,  271 ; 
admits  the  Jesuits,  291 ;  new  consti- 
tution, 296 ;  the  Sonderbund,  3.31  ; 
revolt  subdued,  374;  war,  380;  sur- 
renders to  the  Confederates,  383 ; 
results  of  the  war,  387,  388  ;  national 
constitution,  393. 

French,  The,  help  the  Grisons,  170- 
172 ;  occupy  the  bishopric  of  Bale, 
253  ;  intervene  at  Geneva,  259  ;  con- 
quer and  plunder  the  country,  fight 
with  the  Austrians,  271-277;  finally 
withdraw,  280  ;  blockade  Switzer- 
land, 319. 

French  revolution  of  1790,  251. 

of  1830,  293. 

of  1848,  389. 

Frey-Herose  of  Aargau,  340,  379. 

Froideville  of  Berne,  249. 

Fuchs,  Aloys,  322. 

Christopher,  344. 


Fuentes,  governor  of  Milan,  160. 
Fueter,  Emanuel,  of  Berne,  228. 
Furno  of  Leveutina,  231,  233. 
Furst,  Walter,  39,  40. 
Furstenberg,  Henry  of,  125. 
Fussli,  Henry,  of  Zurich,  264. 
—  Archdeacon,  332. 


Galba,  the  Eoman  emperor,  11. 
Gallus,  19. 

Gardovall,  Castle  of,  84. 
Gaudot,  Prussian  chargd,  239. 


INDEX. 


399 


Gauls,  The,  drive  the  Rhetians  from 
Italy,  are  plundered  by  the  Cymbri, 
3,  4. 

Geiger,  John  Jacob,  243,  244. 

Geisberger,  Francis,  abbot  of  St.  Gal- 
len,  139. 

Geneva,  7, 14, 17  ;  compact  with  Berne 
and  Freiburg,  assaulted  by  Savoy, 
protestant,  independent,  144-147  ; 
compact  with  Zurich,  151 ;  escalade, 
157  ;  constant  quarrels,  interference 
of  French  and  Confederates,  rising 
of  the  people,  revolutionary  misrule, 
order  restored,  256-262  ;  incorpora- 
ted with  France,  272 ;  a  Confederate, 
287;  disturbances,  new  constitution, 
347,  348  ;  bloody  revolution,  373, 
374  ;  national  constitution,  393. 

Geneva,  Bishops  and  counts  of,  144. 

German  envoys  leave  Berne,  314. 

Gcrsau,  Commune  of,  55. 

Gessler,  Hermann,  of  Bruneeg,  37,38, 
40;  death,  41. 

Giornico,  Incredible  feat  at,  115. 

Girard,  Ignatius,  of  Freiburg,  250,  251. 

Glarus.  2ii ;  a  Confederate,  52  ;  despair, 
valour  and  victory,  63,  64 ;  purchases 
her  independence.  67  ;  divided  in 
religion,  135;  subjects  revolt,  213- 
216";  constitutional  quarrel,  326,  327  ; 
national  constitution,  393. 

God's-house  league  of  Khctia,  86. 

Goldau  destroyed,  282. 

Goths,  The,  subjugate  Khetia,  and 
make  the  people  serfs,  15 ;  van- 
quished by  the  Franks,  16. 

Grafenried,  Colonel,  of  Berne,  271. 

Grandson,  capture,  massacre,  and  bat- 
tle of,  108-110. 

Gregory  XVI.,  pope,  323. 

GreifiMiseo,  Massacre  at,  94. 

Grey  league  of  Khetia,  87. 

Grindclwald,  137. 

Grisons,  Confederacy  of  the  three 
leagues,  88  ;  democratic  republic, 
105;  defeat  Austria,  124;  establish 
bailiwicks,  129  ;  partly  protestant, 
143  ;  violent  disputes,  152  ;  civil 
war,  interference  of  Spain,  war  with 
Austria,  woo  to  the  conquered,  Hun- 
garian plague,  great  misery,  the  em- 
peror's sword  gives  the  law,  free- 
dom recovered  by  help  from  France, 
and  the  old  leagues  renewed,  160- 
175 ;  party  quarrels,  255,  256 ;  in- 
vited to  join  the  Helvetian  republic, 
272;  compelled  to,  277  ;  a  Confeder- 
ate, 280  ;  unjustly  treated,  288  ;  na- 
tional constitution,  393. 


Grossi,  Judge  of  Geneva,  145. 
Growth  of  liberty,  30. 
Grunenberg,  William  of,  99. 
Gruyero,  Counts  of,  148. 
Gug'lers,  The,  57. 
Guisolan  of  Freiburg,  250,  251. 
Guizot,  French  minister,  863. 
Guler,  John,  165,  175. 
-,  Peter,  168,  172. 


Gustavus  Adolphus  of  Sweden,  171. 

Habsburg,  Counts  of,  large  domains, 

26  ;  dukes  of  Austria,  36. 
Haller,  Berchtold,  134,  189. 
Hallwyl,  Thuring  of,  92,  98,  100. 
— ,  John  of,  109-111. 


Harten,  The,  of  Zug,  218. 

,  of  Appenzell,  222. 

Hartmann,  bishop  ot  Coire,  85. 

Hartsch,  Jacob,  69. 

Hasenburg,  Hans  of,  60. 

Hatred  against  Austria,  62. 

Hecker  in  the  grand  duchy  of  Baden, 
392. 

Hegetschwyler,  Councillor,  of  Zurich, 
335. 

Heimathlosen,  The,  179,  290. 

Helvetia,  Ancient,  1;  a  prey  to  fo- 
reign nations,  18. 

Helvetians,  The,  first  exploits,  3  ;  emi- 

?rate  into  Gaul,  defeated  and  sent 
ack  by  Julius  Cesar,  7,  8  ;    civiliza- 
tion  and   effeminacy,  12 ;    slain  or 
made  slaves,  14. 

Helvetian  republic,  The,  272;  impo- 
tence of  the  government,  275 ;  re- 
peated changes,  278 ;  comes  to  an 
end,  279. 

Helvetian  Society,  The,  287. 
Henry  the  Fowler,  22. 

II.,  of  France,  150. 

IV.,  of  France,  157. 


Henzi,    Samuel,   of   Berne,   his    con- 
spiracy and  death,  226-229. 
Hertenstein,  Caspar  of,  111. 
Herzog,  Marianus,  273. 
Hess,  bunromaster  of  Zurich,  834,  885. 
Hirzel,  of  Zurich,  237. 

•,  Bernard,  pastor  of  Pfeffikon, 


334,  335. 
Holy  alliance,  The,  289,  293. 
Holzaeh,  of  Menzingen,  94. 
Holzhalb,  John  Henry,  169. 
Horn,  The  Swedish  general,  177. 
Homers  of  Schwyz,  The,  328. 
Hortense,  Queen,  329. 
Hug,  John,  142. 

Huguenots,  The,  of  Geneva,  146. 
— : of  France,  153,  154. 


INDEX. 


Hungarians,  The,  22. 

Huns,  The,  sweep  over  the  country,  14. 

Harlimau,  Landis,  332. 

Huss,  John,  74. 

Ida  of  Toggenbnrg,  27. 

Iingrund,  floury,  116. 

Imperial  domains,  81. 

tribute,  29. 

Imposing  spectacle,  232. 

Increase  of  franchises,  85. 

Independence  of  Switzerland  acknowl- 
ejred,  ISO. 

Ingelram  of  Coucy,  56,  57. 

Inner-rhodes  of  Appenzoll,  155;  party- 
disputes,  243-246  ;  neutral  in  Son- 
deround-war,  380 ;  fined  by  the 
Diet,  388. 

Interference,  Foreign,  202,  306,313,386. 

Interlaken,  Convent  of,  136. 

Iselin  of  Bale,  237. 

Italian  bailiwicks,  130;  protestants 
banished,  150;  canton  of  Ticino,  280. 

Jeuatsch,  George,  161,  166,  170,  172, 

174. 

Jenni,  of  Musswangen,  860. 
Jesuits,  The,  in  Freiburg  and  VaJais, 

291,  321  ;  in  Schwyz,  325,  327,  328  ; 

in  Valais,  354-356 ;  in  Lucerne.  357- 

359;  banished  from  Switzerland,  387. 
Jobst  of  lludeuz,  48. 
Joris  of  Valais,  354 
Jost,  Major,  of  Valais,  356. 
Journeymen's  banquet,  314. 
Joyous'  bund.  The,  113. 
Julia  Alpimua,  12. 
Julius   Cesar  defeats   the   Helvetians 

and  occupies  their  country,  7-9. 

Kaiser,    pastor   of   Uznach^  burnt  at 

the  stake,  138. 

Kalbenuatten,  William  of,  356. 
Keller  of  Lucerne,  243. 

.  avoyer,  291. 

'of  Zurich,  319. 

,  Augustine  of  Aargau,  340,  357. 

Kistler,  Peter,  of  Berne,  106. 

Khmms,  The,  of  Schwyz,  328. 

Knutwyl-union,  359,  360. 

Kolin,  Peter,  82. 

Kost,  Wendelin,  of  Lucerne,  361. 

Krnss,  Casimir,  24-3. 

Kuno,  abbot  of  St.  Gallen,  67-78. 

Knnzli,  John,  263. 

Kybnrg,  Counts  of,  26,  57,  58. 

La  Barde,  French  envoy,  184. 
La  Basside,  159. 


Landenberg,  Beringer  of,  87 ;  his  ex- 
pulsion, 42. 

Landsturwi,  64 ;  cruelty,  199,  367. 

Landwehr,  361. 

Lanier,  French  envoy,  178. 

Lausanne,  14,  23,  36";  protestant,  144; 
retains  her  franchises  under  Berne, 
148 ;  commotions,  254. 

,  bishop  of,  26,  148. 


Lavater,  John  Caspar,  of  Zurich,  264. 
League  of  Wollhausen,  182. 

of  the  subjects,  185. 

of  Sarnen,  302-305 ;   dissolved 


by  the  Diet,  306. 

Lecques,  French  marshal,  174. 

Lenzburg,  Counts  of,  31,  32. 

Leo  X,  pope,  132. 

Leopold  of  Austria,  at  Sempach,60,  61. 

Leu,  Joseph,  of  Ebersoll,  343 ;  his  as- 
sassination, 372. 

Leuenberger,  Nicholas,  chief  of  the 
people's  league,  185,  186  ;  executed, 
188. 

Leventina,  Italian  bailiwick,  66,  81, 
91 ;  revolts  and  loses  her  franchises, 
230-232;  canton  of  Ticino,  280. 

Linth  canal,  282. 

Little  Burgundy,  Dukes  of,  17. 

Louis  of  Bavaria,  emperor,  44,  46. 

the  Dauphin,  97. 

XI.  of  France,  107;  perfidy,  108. 

XVI.     253,  254. 

XVIII. •  285. 


Philippe,  313,  317,  330,  389. 
Napoleon,  329,  330. 


Love  of  money,  128. 

Loweubrugger,  Nicholas,  von  der 
Flue,  116. 

Lowerz  destroyed,  282. 

Lucerne,  20,  23 ;  a  Confederate,  45 ; 
saved  by  a  boy,  46  ;  increase  of  ter- 
ritory, 55  ;  conquests  from  Austria, 
76 ;  holds  fast  to  the  catholic  faith, 
135;  subjects  revolt,  182-1 89 ;  party- 
quarrels,  241-243;  liberal  constitu- 
tion, 296;  reaction  and  revolution, 
343,  344 ;  Sonderbund,  351 ;  admits 
the  Jesuits,  prohibits  free  expression, 
defeats  the  free-corps  and  prosecutes 
the  liberals,  357-362 ;  arms,  364 ; 
defeats  the  second  free-corps,  365- 
867 ;  fresh  prosecutions,  372 ;  war, 
380 ;  surrenders  to  the  Confederates, 
885 ;  results  of  the  war,  887,  388 ; 
national  constitution,  393. 

Lugano,  Italian  bailiwick,  130  j  canton 
ofTicino,  280. 

Lugnetzers,  The,  163. 

Lupulua,  134. 


INDEX. 


401 


Luther,  Martin,  133  ;  writings  burned, 

135. 
Luvini,  Colonel,  of Ticino,  345,  346, 3S3. 

Maggia-thal  (Val  maggia\  Italian  baili- 
wick, 130;  canton  ot' Ticino,  280. 
Miiilhirclon,  Kuiaimel  of,  251. 
Miiinelukes,  The,  of  Geneva,  146. 
Mangold,  IV. 
Manesse,  Kudiger,  49-52. 
Manuel,  Nicholas,  134. 
Maple  tree  of  Trims,  87. 
March- union  of  Geneva,  347,  373. 
Mnriastein,  abbey  of,  337. 
Massacre  at  Rek-hensee,  60. 

Grandson,  109, 110. 

Greifensce,  94. 

Tirano,  164. 


—  in  Nidwaldcu,  276. 


Mast-ena,  Frencli  general,  277. 
Mj'.ssner,  Thomas,  2U6,  208. 
Maximilian  1.  of  Austria,  emperor,  122. 
Mazza,  The,  of  Valais,  79. 
Meggclin,  landaminanu  of  Appenzell, 

155. 

Meinrad,  19 
Meier  of  Coire,  173. 
Melchthal,   Arnold,   of  Anderhalden, 

38-iO. 

Mercenary  wars  of  the  Swiss,  129,  290. 

Merveilleux,  Frencli  charge,  206. 

Meyer,  Bernard,  of  Lucerne,  344,  355, 
356,  359,  879. 

Leodegar,  241. 

Valentine,  212,  243. 

Milan,  the  Sehwyzer's  grave,  129,  130. 

Dukes  of,  81,  91,  115. 

Military  school  at  Thun,  290. 

Mob-law,  335. 

Monier,  Colonel,  of  Berne,  202. 

Monnard  of  Lausanne,  319,  370. 

Montalembert,  Count,  389. 

Montobello,  Duke  of,  French  envoy, 
318,  319. 

Morat,  107,  110. 

Mulilliauscn,  103;  ally  of  the  Con- 
federates, 1'Jti,  154,  155,  177  ;  incor- 
porated with  France,  27^. 

Mulliiu'ii,  Nicholas  of,  165. 

Muralte.  The,  ItiO. 

Muri,  Abbey  of,  27,  324,  341. 

Nabholz  of  Zurich,  197-20<X 
Napoleon      Bonaparte     annexes     the 

Grison    bailiwicks   to  the  Cisalpine 

republic,  269 ;  gives  to  the  Swiss  an 

act  of  mediation,  279. 
Narrow    policy    of    the    artisans    of 

Zurich,  50. 
26 


National  constitution,  393. 

Negative  party  of  Geneva,  257,  258. 

Nessi,  Joseph,  of  Ticino,  346. 

Neuchatel,  26  ;  subject  to  Austria,  45; 
falls  to  Prussia,  franchises  increased, 
238-240  ;  a  Confederate,  287  ;  insur- 
rection, 297;  Sarnen  league,  802; 
neutral  in  Sonderbiind  war,  380; 
fined,  388 ;  a  republic,  390,  391 ; 
national  constitution,  393. 

Neuchatel,  Counts  of,  26. 

Neuhaus,  Carl,  avoyer  of  Berne,  342, 
368,  369. 

Neutrality  of  the  Swiss,  177,  284: 
guaranteed  by  the  Congress  of 
Vienna,  288;  in  1848,  391. 

Nicholas  von  der  Flue,  116,  117. 

Nidaiv,  Count  Rudolf  of,  47,  48. 

Nidwalden,  31 ;  valour  and  massacre, 
276. 

Nobles  and  signiors  revolt  asrainst 
their  feudal  lords,  and  make  them- 
selves independent,  22;  jealous  of 
the  cities',  24;  ruined  by  the  crusades, 
28  ;  all-powerful  in  Rhetia,  33 ;  war 
against  Berne,  37 ;  Lucerne,  45 ; 
Berne,  46-48 ;  Zurich,  51,  54 ;  Solo- 
thurn  and  Berne,  58;  the  Confed- 
erates, 59;  Glarus,  63;  impoverished, 
sell  their  estates  to  the  Confederates, 
66  ;  or  ask  for  the  rights  of  citizen- 
ship, 78. 

Nullification,  302. 

Nuncio,  The  papal,  149-152,  204,  322, 
325,  327  ;  at  Lucerne,  350. 

Nuremberg,  Diet  of,  133. 

Oath,  The,  39,  40. 

Oberhasli,  137. 

Oberland,  Canton  of,  272. 

Obwalden,  31. 

Ochsenbein,  Ulrich  of  Nidau,  365  ; 
avoyer  of  Berne,  369,  385. 

Oecolampadius,  134. 

Orelli,  The,  150. 

Orgetorix,  projects  and  suicide,  6. 

Ospentlial,  Henry  of,  44. 

Ossola,  Valley  ,.f,  7S  7'.',  81. 

Ossuary  at  Morat,  112. 

Osterw'ald,  banneret  of  Neuchatel,  240. 

Outcr-rhodes  of  Appenzell,  1~>5  ;  quar- 
rel between  Harton  and  Linden,  221- 
225. 

Pancratius,  abbot  of  St.  Gallen,  277, 

286-283. 

Paritat  of  Aanrau, 
Peace  and  its  fruits,  66,  67. 
Pecolat  of  Geneva,  145. 


402 


INDEX. 


People's  fortresses,  23. 

—  league,  186-188. 

Perpetual  Bond  of  the  three  primitive 
cantons,  Uri,  Schwyz,  ana  Unter- 
walden,  36 ;  with  Lucerne,  45 ;  Zu- 
rich, 51 ;  Glarus,  52 ;  Zug,  53 ;  Berne, 
54;  Bolothurn  and  Freiburg,  117; 
Bale,  Schaffhausen,  and  Appenzell, 
125  ;  dissolved  by  the  French  inva- 
sion, 273. 

Peter  of  Pultinga,  abbot  of  Disentis, 
86. 

Petty  wars,  118. 

Pfytfer  of  Lucerne,  191,  242. 

Pius  IX..  pope,  389. 

Planta,  John,  of  Rhezuns,  152. 

Pompey,  162,  164,  166. 

Rudolf,  160,  164,  167,  174. 

party  in  Grisons,  255,  256. 

Plappart-war,  102. 

Plater,  Thomas,  143. 

Plurs,  Terrible  destruction  of,  163. 

Poles,  The,  in  Switzerland,  303,  311, 
313,  317,  818. 

Popes,  The,  hire  Swiss  life-guards,  128- 

Priesthood,  TheCatholic,  132, 2$!,.  32.1- 
326. 

Primitive  cantons,  The,  settled  by  the 
Cymbri,  5 ;  originally  one  commu- 
nity, 30  ;  form  a  Confederacy,  36 ; 
resist  the  French,  273. 

Propaganda,  The  Roman,  321. 

Protestant  cantons,  134,  138,  189-191, 
197-194. 

Pruntrut,  212. 

Raccaud,  John  Peter  of  Freiburg,  248, 

249. 

Radetzky,  Austrian  field-marshal,  392. 
Rahn-Escher  of  Zurich,  332. 
Rappers  wyl,  51,  103. 

Counts  of,  27. 

Raron,  Wichard  of,  79. 

Rauracia,  The  short-lived  republic  of, 

incorporated  with  France,  253. 
Recliberg,  John  of,  9v>,  9S,  99. 
Reding  of  Biberesrs,  44. 
Ttel,  89,  93,  94. 

Rudolf,  128. 

Aloys,  273,  27S. 

Nazar,  328. 

Reduction  of  the  currency,  181,  182. 
Refugees,  179,  303,  811,  313,  317,  31&. 

392. 
Reinach,  John  Conrad  of,  211. 

Jacob  Sigismund,  212. 

bishops  of  Bale. 

Religious  schism,  133,  passim. 
Rene,  duke  of  Lorraine,  107, 112, 


Rengger,  Von,  councillor,  252,  253. 
Representative  party  of  Geneva,  257, 

258. 
Revolt  of  vassal-nobles  and   bishops 

against  their  feudal  lords,  22. 
Revolt  of  the  subjects  of  Berne,  181. 
-of  Zurich,  264- 


267. 

Rey  of  Freiburg,  250,  251. 

Rlieinfelden,  45,  98,  99. 

Rlietians,  The,  3 ;  subjugated  by  the 
Romans,  8;  by  the  Goths  and  Franks, 
15,  16 ;  generally  serfs,  33  ;  suft'er- 
ings,  individual  resistance,  early  al- 
liances, the  three  leagues,  are  called 
Grisons,  83-88. 

Rilliet,  Colonel,  of  Vaud,  382,  386. 

Rivaz,  The  prebendary  of,  355,  356. 

Robustelli,  Jacob,  164,  165. 

Roggenbach,  Joseph  of,  bishop  of 
Bale,  252t  253. 

Rohan,  Duke  Henry  of,  172-177. 

Romain  idiom  and  districts,  15,  17. 

Romans  defeated  by  the  Tigurins,  4  ; 
subdue  Helvetia,  Valais,  and  Rhetia, 
dominion,  overpowered  by  the  Alle- 
manni,  8—14. 

Roman  court,  plans  and  action,  320, 
348. 

Roinantsch  idiom,  33. 

Romarino,  General,  312. 

Rossljerg,  capture  of  the  castle,  42. 

Jide  of  the  mountain,  282. 


Roaster,  Henry,  249. 
Rott,  John,  57. 
Rousseau,  Jean  Jacques,  257. 
Rudolf  of  Habsburg,   the  good  em- 
peror, 34-36.. 
Rusca,  Nicholas,  162. 
Riuli,  The  meadow  of,  39.  * 

Rysig,  Petermann,  of  Schwyz,  82. 

Safety-unions  of  Berne,  319,  320. 

St.  Bernard,  Convent  of,  354,  355,  38S. 

St.  Gallen,  Abbev  and  Abbots  of,  1!>, 
21,  32,  67,  73,  121,  139,  143,  17&,  l'J5r 
204,  263,  287. 

St.  Gallen,  City  and  district,  23 ;  league 
with  Appenzell,  63  ;  dispute  witli  the 
abbey,  121 ;  partly  protestant,  134  ; 
canton  of  Santis,  272  ;  canton  of  St. 
Gallen,  a  Confederate,  280 ;  anarchy, 
287  ;  new  constitution,  296  ;  casting: 
vote  in  favour  of  liberal  measures, 
351,  375,  378  ;  national  constitution, 
393. 

3-t.  Jacques,  Heroes'  death  at,  97. 

•jt.  Maurice,  Abbey  of,  355,  388. 

Sale  ot*  indulgences,  132, 


INDEX. 


403 


Balis,  Hercules  of,  160. 

,  Ulysses  of,  165. 

,  Rudolf  of,  168, 170. 

,  Lords  of,  255,  256. 

Salis-Soglio,  Ulrich  of,  general  of  the 
Sonderbund,  376,  381,  382,  335. 

Samson,  Benmrdin,  132. 

Santis-alp,  244. 

Santis,  Canton  of,  272. 

Sarasin  of  Geneva,  205. 

Sarnen,  Capture  of  the  castle  of,  42. 

,  League  of,  302-305. 

Sartori  of  Leventina,  231,  233. 

Sannier,  Anthony,  147. 

Savage  manners  of  the  Swiss,  127. 

Savoy,  Counts  of,  26,  34,  144 ;  dukes, 
145-147,  157. 

,  Invasion  of,  311. 

Schaffhausen,  23;  independent,  29; 
subject  to  Austria,  45 ;  fights  against 
the  Confederates  at  Sempach,  61 ; 
freed  by  the  emperor,  75 ;  a  Con- 
federate, 125;  protestant,  134;  re- 
forms and  disturbances,  209  ;  liberal 
constitution,  296  ;  national  constitu- 
tion, 393. 

Scharnachtal,  Nicholas  of,  109. 

Sehauenberg,  French  general,  270,  276. 

Schauenstein,  Thomas  of,  164. 

Scherr,  Thomas,  of  Zurich,  331,  332. 

Schik,  Arnold,  of  Schwyz,  97. 

Schiker,  Josias,  of  Zug,  218. 

Schinner,  Cardinal,  129. 

Schmidt,  Major,  of  Hitzkirch,  361. 

Schmied,  Colonel  Caspar,  170,  173. 

Schmucker,  Thomas  and  Lienhard, 
135. 

Schon,  Rudolf,  65. 

Schumacher,  Anthony,  Ammann  of 
ifcig,  217-220. 

.  Placidus,  241,  242. 

Schwyz,  5,  30-32 ;  perpetual  bond,  36 ; 
renowned  for  valour,  and  gives  name 
to  the  Confederacy,  44 ;  takes  the 
March  and  Uzuach,  89 ;  holds  fast  to 
the  catholic  faith,  135 ;  canton  of 
Waldstatten,  272  ;  disturbances  and 
temporary  division,  296  ;  .  Sarnen- 
league,  302 ;  breaks  the  peace  and  is 
occupied  by  Confederate  troops,  306  ; 
admits  the  Jesuits,  325 ;  The  Homer 
and  Klauen  quarrel,  327,  328 ;  Son- 
derbund, 351 ;  war,  880 ;  capitulates, 
886  ;  results  of  the  war,  387,  388  ; 
national  constitution,  393. 

Schvbi,  186,  188. 

Seckingen,  Abbey  of,  26. 

Seldenburen,  Konrad  of,  31. 

Serfs,  lamentable  condition,  17  ;    dues 


to  their  signiors,  25;  benefited  by 
the  crusades,  28 ;  majority  of  the 
countrv-peopie,  126. 

Sforza,  Inudauiiaa,  duke  of  Milan,  180. 

Siegfried,  landamniunn  of  Aargau,  885. 

Siegwart,  Constantino,  of  Lucerne,  344; 
chief  of  the  Sonderbund,  877,  886. 

Sigibert,  19. 

Sigismund,  emperor,  74. 

Signioral  rights,  25. 

Sion,  Bishop  of,  34. 

Soeinius,  Lelius  and  Faustus,  149. 

Solpthurn,  23 ;  independent,  28 ;  as- 
sists Berne,  47  ;  saved  by  John  Rott, 
57  ;  a  Confederate,  117 ;  partly  pro- 
testant, 135 ;  catholic  worship  re- 
established, 143 ;  taken  by  the 
French,  271 ;  liberal  constitution, 
296  ;  disturbances,  new  constitution, 
337  ;  national  constitution,  393. 

Sonderbund  :  separate  league  of  Uri, 
Schwyz,  Unterwalden,  Lucerne,  Zug 
and  I  reiburg,  351 ;  secret  plans,  852  ; 
Valais  joins,  357  ;  conspiracy  against 
the  Confederacy,  372 ;  schemes  and 
preparation  for  war,  376 ;  arms  from 
Austria,  dissolution  decreed  by  tho 
Diet,  377 ;  representatives  quit  the 
Diet,  379  ;  arms  from  France,  880 ; 
early  successes,  881 ;  subsequent  re- 
verses and  surrender  of  Freiburg  to 
the  Confederate  army,  882;  with- 
drawal of  Zug,  383  ;  defeat  at  Gis- 
likon,  384  ;  surrender  and  capitula- 
tion of  the  other  cantons,  and  end  of 
the  league,  386. 

Sonnenberg,  general  of  Lucerne,  364. 
366. 

Sources  of  the  glory  and  subsequent 
debasement  of  the  Swiss,  194. 

Spaniards  in  Grisons,  160-170. 

Sprecher,  Fluri,  165. 

Spreiter,  Henry,  134. 

Stafa,  Revolt  and  subjection  of,  265. 
267. 

Stanz,  Covenant  of,  117. 

Staub,  John  Peter,  219. 

Stauffacher,  Werner,  38,  42. 

Steiger,  Dr.  Robert,  862,  371. 

Steiner,  Jacob,  165. 

Steinholzlein,  Banquet  at,  814. 

Strassburg,  Count  Otto  of,  44. 

,  Festival  at,  102. 

Strauss,  David  Frederick,  331-888. 

Strebel,  Berthold,  48. 

Street-fights  in  Naples,  892. 

Strength  of  Confederates,  55. 

StuBsf,  Rudolf,  89,  93 ;  death,  94. 

Suabia,  Dukes  of,  17,  22. 


404 


INDEX. 


Suabia,  John  of,  42. 

Suabians,  The,  attack  Appenzell,  69 ; 

Switzerland,  122 ;    assist  tlie  abbot 

of  St.  Gallen,  199. 
Subserviency  to  foreigners,  178. 
Sumptuary-law  of  Berne,  106. 
Siiter,  Joseph  Anthony,  landammann 

of  Appenzell,  243-246. 
Suwarrow,  Russian  general,  277. 
Swedish  family  names,  5. 
Swiss  life-guards,  254. 
Switzerland,    boundaries     of,    2 ;     in 

freat  danger,  12-3  ;  independence  ac- 
nowledged,  180  ;  limits  contracted, 
269. 

Tanner,  landammann  of  Appenzell, 
156. 

Tell,  William,  the  archer  of  Burgen, 
40,41. 

Ten-jurisdictions,  League  of  the,  in 
Grisons,  88  ;  rights  of  Toggenburg 
bought  by  Austria,  122;  subjugated 
by  Austria,  169  ;  purchase  of  free- 
dom, 174. 

The  Three  men  of  Rntli,  39. 

Theilig,  Frischhans,  115,119. 

Thirty  years'  religious  war  of  Germany, 
176. 

Thorberar,  Peter  of,  59. 

Threats  from  abroad,  313,  389. 

Thnn,  Military  school  at,  290. 

Thurgau,  a  bailiwick  of  the  Confeder- 
ates, 103 ;  great  mortality,  159  ;  a 
canton,  272 ;  a  Confederate,  281 ; 
liberal  constitution,  296 ;  national 
constitution,  893. 

Ticino,  Canton  of,  a  Confederate,  280 ; 
civil  war  prevented,  287 ;  liberal 
constitution,  296  ;  bloody  change  of 
government,  345-347  ;  national  con- 
stitution, 393. 

Tigurins,  The,  3 ;  join  the  Cymbri  and 
defeat  a  Roman  army,  4. 

Todfalls,  25. 

Toggenburg,  Counts  of;  great  posses- 
sions in  Rhetia,  27. 

— Frederick  of,  dies  child- 
less, 87  :  war  for  his  estates,  88-91. 

Toggenburgers,  The,  138.  195-203. 

Travers,  Anthony,  161. 

Augustm,  161,  162. 

Treasures  carried  away  by  the  French, 
272. 

Treaty  of  Aarmi,  203 ;  Amiens,  279 ;  of 
Bale,  125  ;  Cheraseo,  171  ;  Feldkirch, 
174;  Lausanne,  151 ;  Monzona,  170; 
Rorschach,  222 :  St.  Julian,  146 ; 
Teynikon,  142;  Westphalia,  180. 


Tribunals   of  the   Grisons,   152,  160, 

161,  164. 

Trient,  Fratricide  on  the,  356. 
Trumpi,  Caspar  of  Glarus,  213,  214. 
Tscharner  of  Berne,  president  of  the 

Confederacy,  318. 
Tschudi,  prie'st  of  Glarus,  326. 
Tyrolese,  The,  72,  122. 

Uechtland,  23. 

Ulli  Galli,  186,  188. 

Unequal  rights,  126. 

Unterwalden,  30;  divides,  31;  per- 
petual bond,  36  ;  holds  to  the  Cath- 
olic faith,  135;  canton  of  Waldstatten, 
272;  Sarnen  league,  302;  Sondcr- 
bund,  351 ;  war,  380 ;  capitulates, 
386;  results  of  the  war,  387,  388; 
national  constitution,  393. 

Uri.  30  ;  perpetual  bond,  36  ;  scrupu- 
lous justice,  77;  holds  to  the  Catholic 
faith,  135;  deprives  Leventina  of 
her  franchises,  232  ;  canton  of  Wald- 
statten, 272  ;  Sarnen  league,  302  ; 
Sonderbund,  351  ;  war,  380;  capitu- 
lates, 386 ;  results  of  the  war,  387, 
388 ;  national  constitution,  393. 

Urs  of  Loventina,  231,  233. 

Utiger,  Beat  Caspar,  218. 

Valais,  subdued  by  the  Romans,  9  ; 
signiors,  26;  upper  Valais  free,  34; 
invaded  by  Confederates,  80;  aids 
them  against  Savoy,  108 ;  partly 
protestant,  143;  extends  her  boun- 
daries, 147 ;  protestants  expelled, 
158;  a  canton,  272;  a  prey  to  the 
French,  278 :  a  Confederate,  '_^7 ; 
admits  the  Jesuits,  291  ;  Sarnen- 
league,  302;  civil  war,  fratrilftle, 
Sonderbund,  352-357  ;  war,  380  ; 
capitulates,  386 ;  results  of  the  war, 
387,  388;  national  constitution,  3i>3. 

Valtelina,  Grison  bailiwick.  129  ;  com- 
motions and  massacre,  160-167  ; 
Cisalpine  republic,  269 ;  annexed  to 
Austria,  288. 

Vaud,  26;  protestant,  144;  subdued 
by  Berne,  147 ;  calls  in  the  French, 
and  declares  herself  independent, 
270;  a  canton,  272;  a  Confederate, 
280 ;  arms  for  independence,  286 ; 
liberal  constitution,  296 ;  change  of 
government,  363;  church  dispute, 
369-371 ;  national  constitution,  393. 

Vendome,  Duke  of,  207. 

Venice  and  Grisons,  160. 

Vergennes,  French  envoy,  258. 

Vindomssa,  11,  14. 


INDEX. 


405 


Vitellius,  11. 

Wahl,  Brothers,  317. 

Wula,  John,  of  Glarus,  124. 

Waldinann,  John,  burgomaster  of 
Zurich,  111,  112  ;  arrogance,  119  ; 
execution,  120. 

Waldinann,  Convention  of,  120. 

Wsildstatten,  Canton  of,  272. 

Waller,  of  Aargau,  339,  860. 

Walsors,  The,  33. 

War  not  the  greatest  of  evils.  208. 

Wart,  Rudolf  of,  43 

Wasser,  John  Henry,  of  Zurich,  175. 

Weimar,  Duke  Bernard  of,  178. 

Wendell,  Clara,  291. 

Wengi,  avoyer  of  Solothurn,  148. 

Werdenberg,  Counts  of,  27,  86. 

.  Rudolf  of,  70-72. 

Werdenbergers,  Revolt  of  the,  218- 
216. 

Werli,  avoyer  of  Unterwalden,  exe- 
cuted by  the  protestants,  138. 

Wernier,  Samuel,  of  Berne,  228. 

Wertmuller  of  Zurich,  186-188,  201- 
202. 

Wesen,  62  ;  treachery,  63. 

Welters,  The,  of  Appenzell,  221-223. 

Wettingeu,  Abbey  of,  138,  340. 

Wettstein,  John  Rudolf,  180. 

Wieland,  Dr.,  of  Aargau,  341. 

Wigoldingen,  Fray  at,  192. 

Wilchingen,  Revolt  in,  210. 

Willi,  John  Jacob,  281. 

Willisau,  Attack  on,  360. 

Winkelried,  Arnold  Struthahn  of,  61. 

Wisard,  banneret  of  Munsterthal,  231. 

Wolleb,  Henry,  124. 


Wyler,  John,  109. 
Wyttenbach,  Thomas,  134. 

Zahringen,  Dukes  of,  23,  26. 

Za  m  bra,  (John  Baptist  Prevost),  162. 

Zeller,  Dr.,  of  Tubingen,  375. 

Zellwegers,  The,  of  Appenzell,  221- 
223,  237. 

Ziegler,  Colonel,  384. 

Zoppo,  Lord,  82. 

Zug,  a  Confederate,  53 ;  holds  to  the 
catholic  faith,  140 ;  party-rage  and 
disturbances,  216-220 ;  canton  of 
Waldstatten,  272 ;  Sonderbnnd,  351 ; 
wavers,  378  ,  withdraws,  888  ;  na- 
tional constitution,  393. 

Zurich,  23,  26,  28  ;  change  of  govern- 
ment, 49,  50 ;  plot  of  the  nobles  de- 
feated by  an  apprentice,  51 ;  a  Con- 
federate, Vorort,  52  ;  besieged  by 
Austria,  54  ;  increase  of  territory, 
55 ;  conquests  in  Aargau,  77  ;  Tog- 
genburger-quarrel,  88  ;  takes  the 
oath  to  Austria,  and  breaks  the  bond, 
92 ;  defeated  by  the  Confederates, 
93  ;  besieged,  95  ;  peace,  98 ;  revolt 
of  subjects,  119,  120  ;  protestant, 
184;  defeated  by  the  catholic  can- 
tons, 141 ;  revolt  of  subjects,  179  ; 
with  Berne  defeats  the  catholics, 
197-204  ;  reforms,  209  ;  revolt  of 
subjects,  264-267 ;  liberal  constitu- 
tion, 296 ;  reaction  and  revolution. 
831-336  ;  repentance,  349  ;  national 
constitution,  393. 

Zurlauben,  Fidelis,  217,  218. 

Zwier  of  Evenbach,  186,  192. 

Zwingli,  Ulrich,  132  ;  death,  141. 


THE     END. 


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'  -The  author's  exposure  of  the  hollow  parts  of  PaJey's  system,  is  managed  with 
the  hand  of  a  master,  and  no  one  can  peruse  but  with  admiration  IIM  skill'nl  dettc 
tion  of  the  fallacies  by  which  a  loose  casuistry  often  seeks  to  confound  disunrtiuhj 


and  pervert  right. 

"  Notwithstanding  the  admitted   value  of  Wayl 
dedly  preferable  as  a  text-booh,  for  schools,  and  female  seminaries  in  particular, 


ithstanding  the  admitted   value  of  Wayland,   we   think  Dymond  deci- 


we are  persuaded,  can  find  no  work  so  well  suited  to  their  object.  This  testimony, 
we,tru8t,  will  carry  with  it  some  more  weight,  not  only  from  the  fact  that  it  comes 
from  one  well  acquainted  with  the  work,  but  one  who  voluntarily  tenders  this  as 
an  unsolicited  tribute  to  a  treatise  of  merit  unequalled  in  its  line.  —  B."  (Rcr 
GEORGE  BUSH.) 

From  the  Boston  Recorder. 

"  The  abridgment  of  the  original  work  of  Dymond,  for  the  use  of  schools,  and  the 
young  generally,  is  a  happy  thought.  The  execution  of  such  a  purpose  could  not 
have  been  better  done  than  by  her  who  has  undertaken  it  in  this  volume.  It  is  not 
enough  to  say  that  we  have  been  pleased,  for  we  have  been  greatly  delighted,  with  a 
labor  that  has  resulted  in  presenting  to  the  youth  of  our  country,  in  so  condensed  a 
form,  and  yet  in  so  clear  and  nervous  a  style,  the  great  principles  of  morality,  as 
they  are  delineated  in  the  gospel  of  Christ.  The  combination  of  philosophy  with 
revelation  is  most  happily  effected,  without  the  slightest  violence  to  either,  and  the 
perfect  harmony  exhibited  between  them,  claims  the  confidence  and  admiration  of 
every  intelligent  reader.  We  speak  with  great  assurance  when  we  say,  that  the 
friends  of  humanity  and  religion  will  have  occasion  to  rejoice,  when  the  '  Principles 
of  Morality,'  developed  in  the  Essays  of  Dymond,  shall  find  a  place  in  all  out 
higher  schools,  and  it  might  be  added,  in  all  the  family  libraries  of  the  land."  (Rt:r 
R.  S.  STORKS,  D.  D.) 

Prom  the  Oneida  Whiy. 

"  This  is  in  truth  an  excellent  book,  and  in  its  present  form,  undoubtedly  the 
most  complete  anil  admirable  compendium  extant  of  moral  and  political  philosophy, 
Voth  theoretical  and  practical,  founded  upon  the  conjoint  principles  of  rii'lit,  natural 
reason,  and  the  will  of  a  Supreme  Being.  In  its  present  shape,  skilfully  nl.ri.l-mi 
and  condensed  as  it  is  by  our  intelligent  countrywoman,  Mrs.  Kirkland,  it  is  not 
only  a  work  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  use  of  schools  and  young  persons,  but  lot 
those  of  all  ages,  and  of  every  standing,  education,  and  condition  of  life,  and  wil. 
constitute  a  most  useful  and  proper  manual  of  personal  and  social  duty  in  over 
family.  —  B." 

24 


PUBLISHED  BY  C.  8.  FRANCIS  <b  CO.,  NEW  YORK. 

ffotoabl*  Sunk  for  Ir^nnla  mto 


Poetry  for  Schools. 

Designed  for  Beading  and  Recitation.  The  whole  selected  from  the 
best  Poets  in  the  English  language.  By  the  author  of  "  American 
Popular  Lessons,"  "  Classic  Tales,"  Ac.,  <fcc.  A  new  and  revised 
edition,  with  additions. 

In  addition  to  the  very  choice  and  unexceptionable  selection  of  poetry, 
this  volume  contains,  annexed  to  the  quotations  from  each  author, 

A    BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH;     AN    EXPLANATION    OF   ALL   TEEMS   IN   THE 

EXTRACTS   THAT  A  CHILD   MIGHT   NOT  UNDEBSTAND  J 

AND    SOME    CRITICAL   REMARKS. 

Thus  the  history  and  character  of  the  poet  is  associated  in  the  mind 
with  his  productions. 

This  edition  has  been  carefully  revised  by  the  author.  It  com- 
mences with  a  brief  but  authentic  history  of  English  Poetry,  and  is 
enriched  by  many  specimens  from  the  best  American  Poets.  Bryant, 
Longfellow,  Holmes,  Everett,  and  other  eminent  names,  embellish  its 
pages. 

"This  is  a  compilation  -which  will  be  found  most  useful  in  elevating  the  ideas 
of  young  people,  and  inspiring  them  with  literary  taste.  The  author  has  gone 
over  the  whole  range  of  literature,  from  translations  of  the  old  Greek  tragedies, 
down  through  the  early  English  poets  to  those  of  our  own  day  and  the  American 
writers.  The  finest  passages  are  selected,  and  explanations  added  which  enable 
the  scholar  to  understand  them.  A  short  sketch  of  each  writer  is  also  given. 
We  have  no  hesitation  in  pronouncing  this  the  best  work  of  the  kind  we  have 
seen,  and  should  hope  it  would  be  extensively  introduced  into  our  schools."— 
Albany  Register. 

"  One  of  the  very  best  books  of  its  kind.  The  selections  are  made  with  excel- 
lent judgment,  and  are  accompanied  with  an  excellent  commentary,  furnishing 
the  pupil  with  information  necessary  for  the  full  understanding  of  the  specimens 
given,  and  pointing  out  what  in  them  is  most  worthy  of  admiration.  The  taste 
of  youthful  readers  could  not  be  under  the  direction  of  a  safer  critic  than  the 
compiler  of  '  Poetry  for  Schools.' " — Evening  Post. 

"This  is  one  of  those  really  useful  and  justly  appreciated  books  which  should 
be  familiar  to  all  engaged  in  teaching.  It  is  prepared  by  Eliza  Robbins,  whose 
practical  experience  in  the  education  of  the  young,  as  well  as  her  thorough  ac- 
quaintance with  English  literature,  peculiarly  flt  her  for  the  task  of  compiling 
such  a  book.  It  is  neatly  brought  out,  and  will  doubtless  be  introduced  into 
schools  and  families  which  have  not  yet  availed  themselves  of  its  assistance  in 
the  most  delightful  branch  of  education."— Home  Journal. 

"This  is  a  new  edition  of  a  very  popular  school-book,  in  which  many  of  the 
finest  passages  of  English  and  American  Poetry  are  presented  as  illustrations  of 
the  nature  and  office  of  true  poetry,  and  as  exercises  for  reading  and  recitation. 
It  is  complied  with  the  highest  degree  of  taste  and  care." 

63 


PUBLISHED  BY   C.    8.    FRANCIS   &   CO.,   NIW   TORI. 

A  Course  of  English  Reading, 

Adapted  to  every  taste  and  capacity.  By  Rev.  James  Pycroft,  B.  A. 
Edited  with  Alterations,  Emendations,  and  Additions,  by  J.  A, 
Spencer,  D,  D.  75  cents. 

The  Shakspeare  Gift  Book. 

Tales  of  the  Girlhood  of  Shakspeare's  Heroines.  By  Mary  Cowden 
Clarke,  author  of  the  "Concordance  to  Shakspeare."  With  line 
Illustrations  on  Steel.  Cloth,  $1.25  ;  extra  gilt,  $1.50. 

The  Shakspeare  Tales. 

Being  a  Second  Series  of  the  above,  by  the  same  author;  with  fine 
Engravings.  Cloth,  $1.25 ;  extra  gilt,  $1.50. 

"  Two  charming  Gift  Books  for  young  persons,  and  well  suited  for  the 
reading  of  full  grown  and  cultivated  ladies." 

The  Constitutional  Text  Book. 

Containing  Selections  from  the  Writings  of  Daniel  Webster ;  The 
Declaration  of  Independence ;  The  Constitution  of  the  United 
States ;  and  Washington's  Farewell  Address.  With.  Copious  In- 
dexes. $1.25. 

The  Poets  and  Poetry  of  Europe. 

With  Biographical  Notices  and  Translations  from  the  earliest  period 
to  the  present  time.  Comprising  Translations  from  the  Anglo- 
Saxon,  Icelandic,  Swedish,  Dutch,  German,  French,  Italian, 
Spanish,  Portuguese,  &c.,  &c.  By  Henry  W.  Longfellow.  One 
large  8vo.  volume.  $5.  Morocco,  $7.50. 

Prose  Writers  of  Germany. 

By  Frederick  H.  Hedge.  1  vol.,  8vo.  With  Portraits  of  Goethe. 
Luther,  Lessing,  Mendelssohn,  Herder,  Schiller,  Richter,  and 
Schlegel.  Cloth,  $3.00;  gilt,  $3.50;  morocco,  $5.00. 

Dietetics  of  the  Soul. 

From  the  German  of  Ernest  Von  Feuchterslebeu,  M.  D.    62J  cents. 
"  A  book  of  deep  thought  to  suggest  thought." 
"  A  collection  of  rich  fragments  of  great  practical  use." 

The  Undying  One, 

Sorrows  of  Rosalie,  and  other  Poems.  By  the  Hon.  Mrs.  Norton. 
Cloth,  $1.00  ;  extra,  $1.50  ;  morocco,  $2.50. 

Speeches  of  Kossuth. 

Condensed   and  Abridged  with   Kossuth's  express  sanction.     By 
Francis  W.  Newman.     With  Portrait.     Cloth,  $1.00. 
"  More  eloquent  speechea  cannot  be  found  in  the  English  language." 

Eothen ;  or,  Traces  of  Travel. 

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PUBLISHED   BY  C.   S.   FRANCIS  &  CO.,   NEW-YORK. 

NEW  AND  VALUABLE   BOOK  FOR  FAMILIES  AND   SCHOOLS. 


jfamtlinr 


A  GUIDE  TO  THE  SCIENTIFIC  KNOWLEDGE 

OF  THINGS  FAMILIAR.  By  the  Rev.  Dr.  BREWER,  Head 
Master  of  King's  College  School,  Norwich.  Carefully  revised  and 
adapted  for  use  in  Families  and  Schools  in  the  United  States. 
One  thick  volume.  Price  62^  cents. 

This  Volume  contains  about  2,000  Questions  and  Answers,  explaining, 
in  the  most  concise  and  intelligible  manner,  the  phenomena  of  every-day 
occurrence.  It  contains  an  amount  of  useful  information  never  before 
collected  in  a  shape  so  convenient  for  study,  am\  so  easy  for  reference. 

EXTRACT  FROM  PREFACE.  —  "  No  science  is  generally  more  interesting  than  that  which  explains  the 
common  phenomena  of  life.  We  see  that  salt  and  snow  are  both  white,  a  rose  red,  leaves  green,  and 
the  violet  a  deep  purple  ;  but  how  few  persons  ever  ask  the  reason  why  !  We  know  that  a  flute  pro- 
duces a  musical  sound,  and  a  cracked  bell  a  discordant  one—  that  fire  is  hot,  ice  cold,  and  a  candle 
luminous—  that  water  boils  when  subjected  to  heat,  and  freezes  from  cold  ;  but  when  a  child  looks  up 
ijto  our  face  and  asks  us  '  why  '—how  many  times  is  it  silenced  with  a  frown,  or  called  '  very  foolish 
for  asking  such  sillv  questions  !'  The  object  of  the  present  book  is  to  explain  about  two  thousand  of 
these  questions,  (which  are  often  more  easily  asked  than  answered,)  in  language  so  simple  that  a  child 
may  understand  it,  yet  not  so  childish  as  to  offend  the  scientific.  In  order  to  secure  the  strictest  accu- 
racy in  the  answers,  the  most  approved  modern  authors  have  been  consulted,  and  each  edition  has  been 
submitted  to  the  revision  of  gentlemen  of  acknowledged  reputation  for  scientific  attainments.  The 
almost  unparalleled  success  of  this  little  volume,  of  which  25,000  copies  have  been  printed  since  the 
year  1848,  is  an  incontrovertible  proof  of  its  acceptability;  and  has  induced  the  author  to  spare  neither 
labor  nor  expense  to  render  his  '  Guide  to  the  Scientific  Knowledge  of  Things  Familiar'  instructive  and 
amusing  to  the  young,  as  well  as  to  those  of  maturer  life." 

The  following  extracts,  from  a  few  of  the  notices  of  the  "  Guide  to  Science"  in 
Borne  of  the  leading  journals  of  the  day,  will  show  the  estimation  with  which  it 
has  been  received  :  — 

Dr.  Brewer's  Guide  to  Science.—  Educational  Twines. 

"  It  is  quite  impossible  to  dip  into  this  charming  little  volume,  open  it  at 
whatever  part  we  may,  without  feeling  a  most  encouraging  assurance  of  the 
progress  that  is  made  in  bringing  scientific  knowledge,  or  at  least  its  aim  and 
scope,  within  the  cognizance  of  the  general  reader.  Every  page  is  calculated  to 
rivet  the  attention  even  of  the  most  thoughtless,  and  must  contribute  to  swell  the 
number  of  partisans  of  useful  knowledge,  and  to  add  recruits  to  the  powerful 
winy  which  is  now  organizing  for  the  warfare  against  ignorance  and  prejudi**- 


PUBLISHED  BY  C.  8.  FRANCIS  &  CO.,  NEW  YORK. 

Dr.  Brewer's  Guide  to  /Science; 

Or,  the  Scientific  Knowledge  of  Familiar  Things.  490  pages.  Price 
62}  cents. 

The  object  of  this  book  is  to  explain  scientifically  and  in  the  most  con- 
cise and  intelligible  manner,  about  2000  questions  of  the  common 
phenomena  of  life,  such  as  these, — 

Why  does  lightning  turn  beer  and  milk  sour? 
Why  do  leaves  turn  brown  in  autumn? 
Why  is  mortar  adhesive  1 

Why  are  coals  black— snow  white— leaves  green— violets  blue— and  rosen 
red? 

It  contains  an  amount  of  useful  information  never  before  collected  in 
•o  convenient  a  shape.  The  Guide  to  Science  is  designed — 

1.  For  a  School  Olass-Book.    The  questions  are  such  as  are  familiar 
to  every  person,  and  should  be  understood  by  every  child.     Who 
has  not  been  asked  by  a  child  some  such  questions  as  these  which 
follow? 

Why  does  a  candle  show  light  ? 
Why  is  ice  cold  and  fire  hot  ? 
Why  does  water  boil  and  freeze  1 
Why  does  the  air  dry  damp  linen? 

And  how  often  is  a  child  called  "  troublesome  and  foolish  for  asking 
such  silly  questions?"  The  object  of  Dr.  Brewer's  Guide  to  Science 
is  to  supply  answers  to  about  2000  such  questions,  in  language  so 
simple  that  every  child  may  understand  it,  yet  not  so  childish  as  to 
offend  the  scientific. 

2.  For  a  Reading  and  Lecture-Book.    It  would  form  a  most  excellent 
syllabus  for  private  or  school-room  lectures,  for 

"  Unlike  most  books,  the  title  comes  very  far  short  of  the  contents.  We 
must  cordially  commend  it  to  all  who  have  to  do  with  the  subject  of  educa- 
tion, for  it  is  truly  a  production  which  deserves  unqualified  praise,  and  all 
possible  encouragement."—  Christian  Witness. 

3.  For  Private  Families  and  Individuals. 

« It  will  be  difficult  to  over-rate  the  value  of  this  very  popular  little  vol-. 
ume.  It  is  no  ephemeral  publication,  but  a  really  correct  and  instructive 
digest  of  the  best  scientific  information  extant  upon  all  the  most  common 
phenomena  with  which  we  are  familiar.  It  is  a  moat  charming  family-book, 
and  cannot  fail  to  interest  all  classes  of  people." — Evangelical  Magazine. 

4.  For  Railway  Travellers.     Every  question  13  an  independent  ques- 
tion, and  every  answer  complete  in  itself.    The  book  may  be  opened 
at  any  page,  and  laid  aside  at  any  line.     It  is  not  needful  to  read  a 
previous  page  to  understand  a  subsequent  one.  but  the  traveller 
may  amuse  himself  by  turning  from  one  part  of  the  book  to  another 
with  entire  freedom. 

&  For  Evening  Amusements,  and  the   Social  Fireside.      Every  ques- 
tion would  make  a  sort  of  conundrum  or  enigma,  and  much  amuse- 
ment might  be  mingled  with  instruction  by  those  who  take  the 
"  Guide  to  Familiar  Science"  as  a  text-book  to  puzzle  an'l  to  please, 
62 


PUBLISHED    BY    C.    8.    FRANCIS    ib    CO.,    NEW    YORK. 

A  Guide  to  English  Composition ; 

Or,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty  Subjects  analyzed, 
and  illustrated  /rom  Analogy,  History,  and  tho 
Writings  of  celebrated  ancient  and  modern  Au- 
thors, to  teach  the  art  of  Argumentation  and  the 
Development  of  Thought.  By  Rev.  Dr.  Brewer. 

"•The  Guide  to  English  Composition'  Is  divided  into  four  parts:  the  First  Part 
contains  forty-five  Themes,  in  which  the  Moral  Inference  or  Conclusion  alone  is 
omitted:  the  Second  Part  contains  thirty-seven  Themes,  in  which  the  Introduc- 
tion and  Historical  Illustrations  are  likewise  omitted:  the  Third  Part  contains 
thirty-seven  Themes,  in  which  every  division  is  omitted  except  the  six  or  eight 
Reasons,  and  the  Quotations ;  and  the  Fourth  Part  contains  eighty  additional 
subjects  for  exercise,  in  the  English,  French,  Italian,  and  Latin  languages.  The 
four  parts,  therefore,  contain  200  Themes  more  or  less  developed. 

"Experience  has  shown  the  author  of  these  outlines,  that  the  young  can  furnish 
an  apt  anecdote  from  history  more  readily  than  they  can  invent  a  similitude,  and 
that  both  are  more  easily  supplied  than  a  pertinent  quotation ;  hence,  the  divi- 
sions omitted  in  the  several  parts  are  not  from  caprice,  but  according  to  a  regular 
gradation  of  difficulties. 

"The  plan  of  construction  throughout  is  similar  to  one  of  the  suggestions  made 
by  Mr.  Walker  in  'The  Tutor's  Assistant:'  and  the  publishers  sincerely  hope 
that  this  'Guide'  may  be  the  means  of  supplying  a  lack  which  has  been  long  felt 
by  intelligent  teachers,  and  of  raising  English  composition  in  schools  from  the 
puerile  repetition  of  a  hackneyed  fable,  or  the  random  '  commonplaces'  of  a 
moral  essay,  into  an  art  which  has  for  its  object  the  analysis,  illustration,  devel- 
opment, and  expression  of  solid  thought." 


"  Dr.  Brewer's  work  on  English  Composition  Is  second  to  none  of  the  kind, 
and  should  be  Introduced  into  every  school  in  which  that  highly  important 
branch  of  education  is  taught."— New  Orleans  Paper. 

"  Few  books  can  be  of  more  permanent  value  to  the  student  than  a  reliable 
guide  in  the  study  of  English  composition,  and  such  an  one  is  before  us,  plain, 
concise,  yet  comprehensive  in  all  its  parts.  We  can  give  it  the  most  hearty  re- 
commendation, and  wish  for  it  a  general  introduction  in  all  our  schools,  and  a 
place  in  every  family." — Albany  Spectator. 

"  The  book  is  a  very  valuable  one,  if  only  as  a  commonplace  book  of  multifarious 
Information.  It  teaches  the  secret  of  the  best  reading  and  most  active  employ- 
ment of  the  mind,  besides  its  immediate  object  of  the  art  of  writing." 

"This  is  an  admirable  book  of  its  class,  and  vastly  superior  to  most  of  its  pre- 
decessors. Its  beautiful  arrangement  of  themes  is  the  very  thing  for  scholars, 
and  must  lead  them  to  a  perspicuous  and  forcible  style  of  writing.  It  should  be 
adopted  at  once  as  one  of  the  staples  of  the  school  room." — Buffalo  Express. 


.  wo?-/ 


A    000  671  605    4 


